


You Were Unexpected

by Noelle_ish



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hurt Alec, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Malec, Malec isn't abusive or noncon AT ALL, Mutual Pining, Protective Magnus, Slow Burn, everything sexual will be consensual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-06-02 07:35:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6557551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noelle_ish/pseuds/Noelle_ish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where warlocks have risen up and taken over the Shadow World, Nephilim are second-class citizens. Warlocks keep them around to get rid of pesky demons and for their own entertainment. </p><p>Magnus Bane finds the whole Nephilim business distasteful, but would rather not involve himself in politics. His life takes an interesting turn when his friend gives him a young Shadowhunter boy for his birthday.</p><p>Alec Lightwood comes from a long line of Shadowhunters who remember the time when they ruled the Shadow World. He would do anything for his family and has accepted his fate, but Magnus doesn’t end up being the horrible warlock he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where do we go from here?

**Author's Note:**

> I read TMI series a few years ago and always felt a connection to Magnus and Alec (even though we really didn’t see them that much...) now Shadowhunters pulled me right back into my love for them. So I created this weird universe to play with them in.
> 
> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> ~No beta~

“Alec, please remember your manners, we don’t want the warlock to turn you into something,” Maryse fussed as she fixed Alec’s tie for the umpteenth time.

“Yeah wouldn’t want that,” Alec muttered under his breath.

“We don’t have to make him more nervous, everything is going to be fine.” Izzy smiled up at her older brother.

“Of course it is, Alec can handle it,” Jace agreed, coming up to grip Alec’s shoulder reassuringly.

Both siblings were putting on brave faces for their brother - their parents didn’t do a good job of building Alec up like they did. Izzy and Jace shared a look for a moment, both could tell how terrified the other was.

A sharp rap on the door interrupted the family. No one needed to ask who it was or what they wanted.

“I thought we’d have more time,” Izzy said under her breath.

Maryse finally stopped tweaking Alec’s outfit and gave him a hug. Jace and Izzy both followed suit, trying to keep their emotions in check. Robert came up next, looking a lot more put together than everyone else.

“Good luck son,” Robert said. “I’m sure you’ll make this family proud.”

They made it sound like he was going off on some incredible mission. About to face off thousands of demons single-handedly. Instead, Alec was merely being given to another being. His job was to be whatever that warlock wanted. Boyfriend? Slave? Pet? Anything.

Alec was glad Max was in Idris so he wouldn’t have to see his big brother be sold to the highest bidder. Alec wondered what his parents would end up telling Max...hopefully lie to him. He wished he could’ve kept this from all of them.

The young Shadowhunter caught himself before he could wallow more in self-pity. He had a job to do. He had his duty. Alec squared his shoulders and went to answer the door.

Lightwoods make their decisions and face the consequences.

 

* * *

 

“Malcolm, what is it?” Magnus had never pretended to be the patient type and his friend was taking way too much joy in keeping secrets.

“That’s not the point of birthday presents!” replied Malcolm.

“Oh please, I’ve gotten way too many presents in my lifetime… On second thought, I hope it’s another bottle of scotch since we’re running rather low.” Magnus tipped the last few drops of said scotch into his glass.

“It’s much better than alcohol, my friend.” Malcolm’s eyes practically danced.

“Well that’s an extreme statement.”

“Remember that business a hundred or so years ago that made me owe you terribly?”

“Ah yes, I believe I remember much of that incident.”

“Well here’s me paying you back!” Malcolm seemed to be going on a planned speech, not acknowledging anything Magnus was saying.

“My dear Malcolm, the whole point of a birthday present is-”

“Without further ado,” Malcolm start to conjure something. “Ta-DUH!” Suddenly a portal was being opened a someone was yanked through it.

The boy went tumbling to the floor, lengthy arms and legs catching himself on all fours. He looked up at Magnus who was twirling his finger around his glass. The boy was a mess of dark hair and attractive features, but still Magnus had a slight frown.

“And what does a Nephilim have to do with my present?” Magnus drawled.

“Magnus, don’t be daft! He _is_ your present!” Malcolm exclaimed, gesturing to the boy. “Look at him, he’s just your type! I payed a pretty penny for him let me tell you, but now we’re all squared away. Only took me a hundred or so years…” Malcolm kept rambling on as Magnus stared at the Shadowhunter.

His cat eyes flickered and the boy caught himself before he flinched. The Shadowhunter stood up now, awkwardly patting down his clothing. Malcolm started poking and prodding him as he spoke, showing him off like a prized canine.

“Malcolm, I-” Magnus was at a - very rare - loss for words. “I can’t accept a Nephilim...what on earth would I even do with one?”

“Come on now Magnus, we all know you can think of a few things!” Malcolm winked with a devilish grin.

“Malcolm-”

“Magnus, I insist! I bought him for you, he’s registered under your name. As far as the pitiful Clave and more importantly the Govern of High Warlocks is concerned, he’s yours!”

Magnus looked about ready to argue some more, but when he looked at the boy something stopped him. The Shadowhunter looked like he was trying very hard to appear unafraid, but that only made him look more so. Malcolm was currently gripping his jaw, then pulling at one of his cheeks. Magnus couldn’t send the boy away with Malcolm, god knows what would happen to him. Maybe it would be best if he just played along.

“Oh alright, alright, I’ll keep him.”

“That’s not how you should show gratitude for your present Magnus dear!” Malcolm patted the boy’s face not too gently. “But I’m sure you’re just excited to get to _know_ him, so I’ll be off!”

Without another word Malcolm conjured another portal, patted the Shadowhunter once more on the head, and disappeared.

That left Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood alone together. Without a thing to do or say.


	2. A long conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I love to hear thoughts, ideas, opinions, constructive criticism, all that good stuff.
> 
> I forgot to mention it, but my universe is a bit of a mixture of the show and books. Character appearances or little details can be taken from either. Other random things are completely from me, so let me know if you get confused :)

“So,” Magnus started, “Would you like a drink?”

It seemed like an innocent question to him, but the Shadowhunter didn’t look pleased.

“No thank you,” Alec answered politely. Much too politely for Magnus’ taste.

“Alright…well...oh, what’s your name?” Magnus couldn’t believe Malcolm hadn’t even mentioned the “present’s” name.

“Alec.”

“Is that short for something?”

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood. But I go by Alec.”

Something flickered across Magnus’ face when Alec said his last name, but the warlock continued on.

“Well Alec it is then,” Magnus smiled at him.

The boy just looked so goddamn terrified, Magnus felt guilty. His species did this, although Magnus did remember a time when the tables were turned. He used to be looked down upon by Nephilim, not the other way around. But this wasn’t the boy’s fault of course.

“Hmm well what to do with you?” Magnus said more to himself than anyone else. He took a long drink as he looked at the boy, who was shifting uneasily.

“Anything you want I guess,” Alec said, eyeing his shoes.

“Oh-” Magnus choked on his drink. He realized how what he said had sounded and stuttered to correct himself, “Oh no, I’m not going to-Oh god.”

Alec was looking at him with a confused expression now. He had thought he understood what the powerful warlock would do with him. Magnus looked to have expensive and exotic tastes. Now the man looked flustered, something that was odd on someone who looked like him.

“Alec… Let’s talk for a moment.”

Magnus beckoned the young man over to sit next to him on the lavish couch. Alec was pretty sure this was a trick, but there was nothing he could do about it anyway. He had to obey.

Alec stared at the beautiful man through his shaggy hair. The warlock was wearing gold eyeliner which made his feline eyes pop and matched bits of gold that were all throughout his outfit. He looked almost like a present-day stylish Egyptian pharaoh.

“I know what you must think of warlocks, but I,” Magnus paused. “I have no intentions of hurting you. I had no intentions of having a Shadowhunter to begin with!”

Magnus stood up from the couch and started pacing in front of Alec.

“The Govern of High Warlocks are all insane thinking since we have the Mortal Cup right now we get to treat Nephilim as our slaves. It’s ridiculous. The times will change, others will gain power, they always do.”

Alec nodded slightly, he knew the Shadow World didn’t used to be like this.

Historically speaking, warlocks had only been the ruling power in the Shadow World for a short amount of time. A band of high warlocks were able to retrieve the Mortal Cup and held that over the Clave. The Clave were willing to go to war over it, but something stopped them. Something forced them into accepting warlocks as their overlords. Magnus himself didn’t even know what that was. This all happened a few years before Alec’s parents were born.

Alec had grown up with this being how society was, but he knew Shadowhunters time would come again. In his eyes, all they needed was the Mortal Cup back and actual intelligent people apart of the Clave. If this would be in his lifetime, he wasn’t certain.

“Anyway,” Magnus’ voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “The only reason I allowed Malcolm to leave you here is, well, I don’t really have anywhere to send you where you’d be safe.” Magnus was thinking out loud again, he really needed to stop doing that.

“Safe?” Alec repeated, staring at Magnus like he grew another head. “Safe?” he demanded again. “How the hell am I safe here with you?! I was bought as a Shadowhunter pet for you to do whatever you want with, there’s nothing safe about any of this!”

Alec had stood up while he was yelling and now Magnus had to look up at him. Alec was a bit intimidating when he worked himself up, but Magnus continued to keep eye contact, looking almost amused. The Shadowhunter quickly caught himself and stumbled backwards onto the couch.

“I-Uh, I’m sorry,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He’d done it now, who knows what the powerful warlock would do...maybe he really would turn him into some creature like Alec’s mother had feared. A rat perhaps.

“It’s alright,” Magnus replied easily and to Alec’s shock. “It’s refreshing to actually hear what you want to say instead of what you think I want to hear.”

Before Alec could voice how confused he was by this new development, a cat hopped into his lap. Alec jumped at the intrusion of fluff. The feline started purring and rubbing itself against Alec’s fancy clothing his mother forced him to wear.

“Well would you look at that,” Magnus smirked. “Chairman likes you. Now that’s very important.”

Maybe Magnus would turn him into a rat to feed to this cat. Is that what warlocks did for fun?

Alec hesitated for a moment but then started softly petting the cat. This helped the anxiety he was feeling for this whole situation. At least the cat - Chairman apparently - didn’t seem to want to hurt him.

That thought reminded Alec what Magnus had said.

“What...What did you mean you wouldn’t hurt me? What are you planning to do with me?”

Alec hoped he wasn’t being too forward. Maryse had gone over phrases he should use to seem more submissive to whatever warlock bought him, but Magnus hadn’t seemed like he needed that. Alec had just yelled at him after all and the warlock had brushed it off. Alec could always throw some “sir”s or “if I may”s if Magnus got mad at him.

“I mean what I said: I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t have anything planned for you. I didn’t realize I’d,” Magnus paused, trying to find another word that didn’t imply ownership, “be hosting a Shadowhunter.”

“You do realize you own me now, right?” Alec asked bluntly. He was tired of Magnus skirting around the issue. If he was going to be forced into doing whatever Magnus wanted, might as well get it out in the open.

“Oh please,” Magnus scoffed. “I’ve lived through countless societies where groups of people believe they own other groups. None of them truly own another human being, they just have relatively short pieces of time where they can pretend they do.”

Magnus sat next to Alec again and started stroking Chairman Meow as well.

“You’d think as warlocks my people would realize this and not pretend like we’re going to have control over Nephilim forever. As a matter of fact, I’d give us another few hundred years or so.”

“You must think I’m really stupid.” Alec moved his hand away from the cat and turned his body away from Magnus. “There’s no way I happened to be bought by a warlock who believes Shadowhunters aren’t beneath him.”

“Alec, I can’t tell you what to believe. But I wasn’t the one who bought you and I certainly don’t think you’re stupid. My friend, well, we’ve been friends a long time. I don’t agree with what he and others of my people do. Us warlocks don’t all think we’re better than you, just the ruling portion do.”

“So why don’t you do something to stop it then?” Alec demanded. “You see all this inequality around you and don’t do anything? I know you’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn, that means you could have a seat at the Govern. But you just hide out here partying and let others suffer.”

“Well, well, well, aren’t we jumping to all kinds of conclusions?” Magnus purred along with Chairman. “Alec, I know you don’t know me very well so what I say might not count for anything to you. You can research warlock history documents to prove what I say to be the truth. Some high warlocks like myself don’t approve of what the Govern does. That doesn’t mean we’re powerful enough to take them all on and overthrow them. _They_ have the Mortal Cup. _They_ decide what the new laws are. I remember a time when your precious Clave was much like that. Controlling Shadowhunter laws even when influential Shadowhunters didn’t believe in their positions.”

“Do you always bring up obscure history to prove your point?”

“When you’ve lived for as long as I have, things tend to blur together.” The smooth humorous tone to Magnus’ voice was back.

“How old are you?” Alec ventured to ask.

“1,250.” He laughed at Alec’s shocked expression. “Going on 458.”

“Wait what?”

“It’s very rude to ask a gentleman his age, Alec,” Magnus smirked.

“Was one of those the truth at least?”

“What would you like for dinner?” Magnus asked.

Alec truly didn’t know how to respond to that. Why was Magnus treating him like a guest? He decided he really needed to figure out what this warlock was all about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically just talking this chapter, but hopefully still enjoyed.


	3. You got your heart buried deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The main reason I'm posting this is cuz if I don't do it now I'll probably wait forever...It's one of those chapter you just can't get exactly right, ya know?

“Alright then, this has been an eventful day,” Magnus stood up from the dining table. Although the dinner had been delicious, the two had eaten mostly in silence. Magnus had tried to engage the Shadowhunter in various stories, but it was a painful experience.

Alec was about to grab their plates and start cleaning up, but with a flick of Magnus’ wrists everything was put away. He looked at Alec with a smirk and said, “Time to turn in.”

Here it was. Alec had tried to mentally prepare himself for this ever since he found out he was being bought by a warlock.

Magnus ushered him down one of the halls of the loft. With each step Alec felt like a little bit more of him was dying. When Magnus opened a door, the room was much less flashy than Alec had expected for Magnus’ bedroom. It was still lavish, but not as glittery or exotic.

“Here’s my guest room. I wasn’t expecting you, so this can do for now. We’ll fix you up your own room tomorrow.”

Alec was stunned…guest room? He stared at Magnus for a moment but then quickly thought better of it. He hurried into the room before the warlock could change his mind.

“Uh-thanks. Good night.” Alec said shortly. He still sounded nervous to Magnus, but the warlock figured a good night's rest would help the anxious Shadowhunter.

“Good night Alec, I’ll see you in the morning.”

With that the door shut, but Alec kept looking at it to make sure he was really alone. Was Magnus really not going to take him to bed with him? Had Magnus actually been telling the truth about not hurting him? Or was this all a trap? Magnus could be lulling Alec into a false sense of security before he pounced - just as cat-like as his eyes.

Alec’s mind was racing as he stripped out of the uncomfortable dressy clothes and hesitated - he didn’t have anything else here. Sleeping in his underwear seemed...unwise. What if Magnus slipped into bed with him in the middle of the night? There was nothing he’d be able to do about it of course no matter what, but just being in his underwear made him feel more vulnerable than he was.

Alec decided to go see if there was something, anything, he could wear in the closet of the guest room. To his surprise he found a variety of things, all looking like they’d relatively fit him. He selected loose sweatpants and a t-shirt, feeling a bit better about his situation even if nothing had really changed.

The young man tried to turn his mind off as he settled in the comfortable bed. He couldn’t help but stare at the door, waiting for Magnus to sneak in. Alec hadn’t even had sex before and the thought of someone forcing himself on him obviously terrified him.

After many hours, the stress of the day wore Alec enough that he could fall into a restless, frightful, sleep.

 

* * *

 

Alec awoke to scratching at the guest room door. Was this some kind of trick? He forced himself out of the bed, even though he was still very tired. He slipped on a sweater from the closet and slowly opened the door a crack.

Chairman Meow pushed the door open with his head and came to circle around the Shadowhunter’s ankles. Alec let out a breath - it was just the cat.

Alec bent down to stroke the animal when he realized he had no idea what time it was…or when Magnus usually got up. Looking out the window, he figured it was still quite early in the morning.

Alec picked up Chairman and tip-toed out of the room. There wasn’t a sound coming from anywhere else in the loft so Alec was pretty sure Magnus was still sleeping.

Good.

The Shadowhunter decided it would be a good idea to make Magnus some breakfast. Maybe clean a little as well. If he could show how useful he’d be as a house slave maybe Magnus wouldn’t use him as a sex slave.

Or maybe he’d use him as both, a thought nagged at him. Still, Alec figured this would be a much better first impression than the one he made last night when he argued with the warlock. Could you get two first impressions? Hopefully.

Well his “second” first impression wasn’t going much better with burnt eggs and pancakes that were far too doey. He couldn’t decide if he should just scrap and start over or if Magnus would be up soon so he should just start cleaning.

Alec went to the refrigerator to try and look at his options again. He had his head in the fridge as he rummaged around.

“Something smells...interesting,” a voice spoke from the doorway of the kitchen.

Alec spun around to find an amused and still-in-pjs Magnus leaning up against the wall. Magnus took in the Shadowhunter’s form in both sweatpants and a large sweatshirt.

“I was-I was trying to make breakfast,” Alec defended himself lamely.

“You realize I have magic for that? Better yet, I can cook myself.”

Alec didn’t know what to say to that or really what warlocks did and didn’t use their magic for. Did Magnus always cook and clean using magic? Had the clothes appeared in his closet by magic? Was Magnus going to create a room for him by using magic? Shadowhunters didn’t exactly like to discuss how powerful the warlocks who overthrew them were...not in detail at least.

Magnus strolled up to Alec and reached towards Alec’s cheek. The Shadowhunter jumped and then froze. He swallowed back a gulp, trying to prepare himself for Magnus to kiss him or grope him or something.

Instead, Magnus wiped the bit of pancake batter that had stuck to Alec’s face. The warlock had been smirking at him when he reached forward, but Alec body language concerned him. The Shadowhunter had jumped in fear quite noticeably and the warlock chastised himself for reaching towards the boy so suddenly. He needed to remember how scared Alec was and how he didn’t believe Magnus’ intentions were good.

“How about you go sit and entertain Chairman Meow while I make something for us to eat?” Magnus offered softly. Alec appeared to like his cat enough, so maybe that would calm him. Being by Magnus seemed to always put him on edge. Magnus didn’t blame the Shadowhunter, but he was quite disgruntled by it all the same.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later after both men were fed and changed into casual clothes, Magnus decided to show Alec some of the history books he had talked about before. To his surprise Alec did seem interested to learn the warlocks’ side of the story since he was raised with the Shadowhunter version. He was as engaged in a conversation as Magnus had ever seen and was even asking questions.

Magnus went on to tell stories about Downworlders and Shadowhunters that occurred throughout all different times and places. They sat on the sofa with Chairman curled up on a pillow by Alec’s arm rest. History books, old photos, and bits of magic were all around. Whenever Magnus came to a particularly good part of a tale he used magic to enhance the experience with flashing lights or smoke forms.

To the warlock’s delight, Alec actually cracked a few smiles.

“Magnus dear!” a voice Magnus knew too well interrupted the pleasant time he was experiencing.

“Ugh not now,” Magnus groaned. Alec looked at him and then back to where the intruding voice came from.

There was a gorgeous woman standing in the entree-way to Magnus’ loft. As she approached them Alec could tell she was a vampire. His hand automatically went to where a weapon should’ve been on his person. It was odd for him not to have any way to defend himself, he felt so vulnerable.

“Please remind me to put wards up against any Downworlders entering this loft,” Magnus muttered to Alec who nodded uneasily.

“Oh don’t be rude Magnus, I just came to-Oh who is this?” Her eyes flashed dangerously at Alec and the light runes on his body. “Magnus! You’ve gotten yourself a Shadowhunter pet, how adorable.”

Magnus got up from his place on the couch, positioning himself in between the vampire and Shadowhunter.

“Malcolm got him...for me. He isn’t a pet, I’d prefer if you just stopped talking.”

“Must have payed a lot for him,” Camille continued, obviously amused at seeing Alec uncomfortable. “I’ve heard the Govern doesn’t give out personal Shadowhunters easily.”

It was true that having a personal Shadowhunter wasn’t anything common. Since there was a small number of Shadowhunters in the first place, most of them were just kept under the Govern control. Alec was the only one of his immediate family to be taken by a specific warlock instead of being the basic Shadowhunting demon-hunting underling to the Govern. He surely hoped no one else in his family would follow. Being second-class citizens to the warlocks was one thing, but his new role was something else.

“Yes well Malcolm is a high warlock in the Govern...he owed me a favor and apparently thought this was the way to pay me back.”

“Aw how adorable,” Camille was dangerously close to Alec now. “You know if you don’t want him I could always…”

“You aren’t a warlock,” Magnus snapped at her. “Vampires don’t get special treatment from the Govern.” He didn’t feel the need to add that even if it was allowed he would “give” her someone to play with over his dead body.

His words had the desirable effect as she turned her gaze from Alec to throw Magnus a glare.

“Fine,” she breathed. “I have other business to speak to you about.”

“Let’s talk in my office,” Magnus gestured away from the sofa and led her from Alec.

 

* * *

 

They were talking for quite a while and Alec had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. He figured he might as well put away the history books and photo albums. As he reached to do so he noticed Magnus’ phone had been left behind.

With a glance over his shoulder to make sure the two were still conducting their business in another room, Alec hesitantly picked up the phone. He looked at Chairman a little guiltily, but the cat seemed to not be judging him.

Alec dialed in the only phone number he knew by heart.

“Hello, who is this?” Izzy’s voice was the best thing Alec had heard in a long time. Or what seemed to be a long time but had only been 48 hours.

“Hey it’s me,” Alec whispered.

“Alec?” Izzy practically screamed. “Are you okay? What’s happening? Is Magnus treating you well?”

“I’m okay...this is just so weird. Magnus is-Wait how did you know I was given to Magnus?”

“Jace parabatai tracked you to Magnus Bane’s New York loft. He’s been keeping close attention to your bond to see if you’ve been in pain or anything. Jace told me all he’s felt over it has been nerves.”

Alec really hoped his brother-in-arms hadn’t felt how strictly terrified Alec had been. Jace would never look down on him for it of course, but Alec was still embarrassed by it.

“Oh okay,” is all he said to his sister. “I just wanted to call and tell you I’m okay. Magnus has been treating me really well actually. I just hope it’s not a trick.”

Izzy let out a breath of relief at that. Then her tone took a commanding and direct tone.

“Honestly, just give me the word and I’ll bust you out of there. We’ll go on the run,” she declared. “You, me, and Jace...and Max. We’ll go into hiding from the Clave and Govern. I really should’ve offered this before you left but everything just happened so fast and I didn’t know-”

“Izzy, stop it. You know we can’t do that.” Before Alec could go into details about his sister’s ridiculous - but caring - plan, he heard a door being opened.

“Shit, I gotta go.”

“Wait, Alec-”

He ended the call quickly and practically threw the phone back where it was. Camille was still talking about something as Magnus led her out.

Magnus strolled back into the room looking mildly unamused. He snapped his fingers and his phone appeared in his hand. As Magnus peered down to navigate to an app, Alec held his breath.

The warlock stared down at his phone for a moment. When he opened the phone it was automatically showing call history. The only number that didn’t have a contact name associated with it was glaringly obvious. The out-going call was made a few minutes ago. That meant...

“Alec, did you call someone on my phone?”

“Uh,” Alec was trying to decide if lying or honesty was the best approach. “Um yeah I just called my family to let them know I got here okay. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you if I could,” Alec blurted out in a rush.

“Of course you can contact your family, I just didn’t know you’d use my-" Magnus abruptly cut off. "Oh, of course. Your personal items were all taken before Malcolm got hold of you.”

The warlock felt like a complete imbecile now.

“I’m sorry Alec, I didn’t even think about asking if you wanted to contact your family. I honestly didn’t realize you wouldn’t have a phone. You also don’t have any of your Shadowhunter gear, do you?”

When a Shadowhunter was selected to be a personal asset to a warlock, the Govern stripped them of their past warrior identity so they could be anything their warlock wanted. This was one of the reasons it was so expensive to acquire a personal Shadowhunter. The Govern had warrior Nephilim to keep pesky demons at bay, so they obviously didn’t give away a good number of them to be house servants or personal prostitutes.

Since Magnus didn’t approve of the relationship between the Govern and Nephilim, he wasn’t completely aware of the whole process. He realized now just how bare Alec had been when he was unceremoniously given to him. Alec had no idea what his life was supposed to be. Magnus felt a pang of guilt, he hadn’t given Alec the necessary info. Telling Alec he wasn’t going to hurt him and his disapproval of Shadowhunter slaves was obviously not blatant enough.

“What do you want to be Alec?” Magnus asked. Alec looked at him with a confused expression.

“Uh," Alec stuttered at the change of subject. "What do you mean?”

“Well you come from a long line of Shadowhunters and I’m guessing you’ve been warrior for them since you were young. So I’m asking you now, what do you want to be?”

“A warrior,” Alec answered quickly. “That’s all I know how to be.”

“I’m sure you can become more than that.” Alec eyed the ground at that so Magnus added, “But if that’s what you want to be then great! I see no reason why you can’t go on missions and slay demons like you used to.”

There was several reasons why Alec shouldn’t still go on missions with his new place in the Shadow World, but the young man decided to ignore those. However, he did have one problem he couldn’t ignore.

“Like you said, I don’t have any weapons.”

“We’ll just have to fix that now won’t we?”

The look on Alec's face was a mixture of surprise, delight, and uncertainty. 

Magnus realized now that he could tell Alec he wasn’t going to hurt him or treat him as his slave until he was blue in the face. The years of hearing horror stories of warlocks had trained the Shadowhunter to never trust one.

Magnus would have to show Alec instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I should tag “slowburn” too haha...that’s how my writing always is.
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	4. Have you seen my childhood?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies! I think we should all be proud that our fandom got second place in TV’s Top Couple 2016 poll! Malec will always be first in our hearts :)

Alec hadn’t thought he’d ever see the New York institute again, so he felt immensely grateful to be walking back up the familiar steps. A few Shadowhunters gave him odd looks as the two entered, but no one dared to move against the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

Until they walked right into the Clave representative and head of the institute.

“Alec!” Hodge exclaimed. He looked ready to hug the boy, but then quickly looked from Alec to Magnus questioningly. “What are you doing here?” Hodge turned his attitude from a mentor to the Clave representative, before the Govern spied on him.

“We’re just fetching a few weapons for Alec,” Magnus replied easily. “He’s going to be...my bodyguard.”

“He’s still not supposed to be back here.” Hodge glanced over his shoulder as if members from the Govern would swoop in and attack him. “He’s out of the Clave’s jurisdiction now.”

“That may be true, but the Clave is under the Govern and he is still being kept by the Govern.”

Hodge hesitated again. He’d never heard of a purchased Shadowhunter being brought back to an institute by their warlock owner...but he supposed it was allowed as long as they didn’t stay long.

“Alright,” Hodge said more to himself than anyone else. He looked back to Magnus, “Of course any weapons or gear we have is open to be taken by a High Warlock. I’ll just log in your visit and anything you need into the records.”

That reminded Magnus, their visit would be taken down. One visit to gather gear and weapons wouldn’t be a problem for the Govern to know about. However, if he took Alec to see his family regularly the Govern would definitely get suspicious. The last thing Magnus or Alec needed was the Govern keeping a closer eye on them...in case they deemed Magnus to be an unfit owner and decided to sell Alec to someone else.

The warlock and Shadowhunter barely stepped past Hodge and entered farther into the institute when a shriek of joy was heard. One of the most beautiful women Magnus had ever seen - and he’d seen quite a lot - was bounding up to Alec.

“Oh my god, Alec!” Izzy practically screamed. She launched herself into her brother’s arms as he smiled brightly. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Magnus realized who this was now - the two did look similar enough to be siblings, down to their attractive features. The female dark-haired beauty was geared up with fresh runes and had her whip attached on her side. She was clinging onto her brother until she saw Magnus smirking at them from over Alec’s shoulder.

“Magnus Bane, of course,” Izzy addressed smoothly as she let go of Alec. Her voice took a sharp tone, “Why are you here exactly?”

“We’re here to get some of my weapons and gear,” Alec cut in. “Magnus is letting me still hunt demons.”

“Oh! That’s wonderf-”

“Isabelle Lightwood,” a voice called from by the doors of the institute. It was an enchanted gargoyle. Only one of several ways the high warlocks kept an eye on their Shadowhunters. “You are currently wasting the Govern’s time. You’ve been given leave for a specific mission and then you are to return here. Any distractions will be recorded.”

“God they get more annoying everyday,” Izzy muttered. “Gotta go...Jace already left, so I’ll tell him you stopped by. I’ll talk to you later.”

Izzy reached up and gave her brother a quick kiss on the cheek. She flashed Magnus a protective and threatening glare, then hurried off before she was reprimanded again. Alec watched her go with a frown, he really hoped someday he’d be able to have a longer conversation with his siblings. Something seemed to always get in the way.

“So, that’s your sister?” Magnus spoke up.

“Yeah.” Magnus looked like he was about to comment, but Alec moved forward abruptly. “Let’s go get my stuff.”

 

Alec gave Magnus a light tour of the institute and Magnus pretended to be interested in Shadowhunter culture. If it was important to Alec, he’d gladly listen. The blue-eyed Shadowhunter collected a few weapons from the main vault, including his favorite seraph blade.

Alec was attaching the blade to his side when he noticed something was in his pocket. He pulled out his old cell phone and smiled. The stealth rune glowed softly on it.

“Good job, Izzy.”

“Great, now you don’t have to steal mine!” Magnus winked at Alec who immediately blushed.

Alec was about to put the phone back when he glanced at a note that was attached to the back. It read, ‘Call us when you can talk openly. Miss you. Love you. - Izzy & Jace.’ Alec quickly stuffed the phone and note in his pocket before Magnus noticed.

The Shadowhunter was surprised at himself when he realized he hadn’t hid the note from Magnus so the warlock wouldn’t get mad at him for planning time to talk to his siblings. On the contrary, Alec didn’t want Magnus to read the note because he figured Magnus would feel worse about Alec being taken away from his family.

 

The two left the weapon vault and Alec lead Magnus to his old room for more specific items. The room was far too dull for Magnus’ taste, but he decided it had a quaint charm when he saw how happy it made Alec.

“Huh...it’s exactly how I left it. They must’ve not had time to clean it out yet,” Alec muttered. He looked around the room for a moment.

“Well thank god for that, otherwise we would be missing out on this gem,” Magnus pointed at one of the walls above Alec’s bedside drawer. There resided a sloppy drawing of what Magnus presumed was supposed to be Alec slaying a demon.

“My little brother drew that for me when he was young.” Alec looked fondly at the scribbles.

“He got your likeness spot on,” Magnus smirked.

Alec opened a secret compartment to reveal his stele, an old family dagger, and his prized possessions: his bow and quiver. Alec turned back to Magnus who had sat himself down on the bed. The Shadowhunter was holding his bow and quiver with reverence.

“Very nice,” Magnus commented.

Alec looked at him with a smile as if he was about to show off his fighting skills. But something caught his eye and he glanced to the side of Magnus. There on the bedside drawer was a family picture.

“May I?” Magnus gestured to the frame. Alec nodded, set his weapons down, and came up to the warlock.

“That’s my mom and dad, Maryse and Robert. They used to be head of the institute here, but the Govern have them on a different assignment now.”

“Mhm, I’ve met them before.”

“You have?” Alec sat down on his bed next to Magnus. The warlock held his family picture like it was a precious item.

“Only in passing, but yes. I’ve heard they’re...quite reserved.” Alec nodded slightly, so Magnus decided to continue. “I’m sure they’re very proud to have a son like you.”

“Uh, not really,” Alec scoffed as he pointed to the only blond in the photo. “That’s Jace, he’s my parabatai. He’s kinda the golden child. He’s always been the best Shadowhunter to our parents...to everyone really.”

Alec didn’t say this in a bitter or resentful tone, he was merely stating what he thought to be fact. Magnus noticed Alec didn’t hold any malice towards Jace - on the contrary it was obvious how much Alec loved Jace. It reminded Magnus of a poem he read once about how much the moon loves the sun.

The way Alec sounded when he spoke of his best friend, brother, and fighting-partner, was a mixture of pride and quiet sad acceptance that he was below Jace.

“It was Orrin Woodward who said, or got credit for saying, ‘Most people overestimate others’ talents and underestimate their own.’”

“Well sometimes it’s true…I mean I’ve always come up just short of him.” Alec shrugged.

“‘Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are,’” Magnus quoted.

“Let me guess, that’s from some impressive scholar?”

“Close… Marilyn Monroe,” Magnus quipped. He then gave Alec a more seriously look.

“And even if Jace is the golden child as you say...what does that make you? The silver child?” Alec seemed to accept that idea, so Magnus pounced. “Not many people know this, but silver is actually a rarer metal than gold.”

Before Alec could refute, Magnus moved along, “And this is the lovely Isabelle? She doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“She’s just very protective...always has been. I told her you aren’t-” Alec cut himself off. Magnus gave him an encouraging nod.

“That you’re not bad or anything,” Alec blurted out. Apparently “not bad” was the best term he could come up with.

“Well I’m still apart of a race that’s basically enslaved yours, so I can accept a bit of hostility from your sister. Anyone can see how much she loves you.”

“Yeah, we’ve always been close. We’ve fought over stupid shit since we were young, but it always came from us trying to protect each other.”

“Hm, sounds like a great relationship to me.”

“Do you have any siblings?” Alec realized he’d been talking an awful lot about his family, but he knew next to nothing about Magnus’.

“I’m afraid not. I do have some very close and old friends.”

“What about your parents? What are they like?”

A darkness came over Magnus’ face and Alec was immediately sorry he asked. He was about to say as much when Magnus seemed to shake of the moment.

“Now, now, we can’t jump to my family when we haven’t finished yours yet!” He went back to the picture. “This is the famous artist I presume? He looks quite a bit younger than all of you.”

“Yeah, that’s Max. He’s in Idris with my parents. He…” Alec looked lost in thought for a moment before catching himself. “Uh we should probably hurry up. I don’t want you to get in trouble with the Govern.” Alec stood up from the bed and therefore slightly away from the warlock.

“Yes, that’s probably true,” Magnus accepted as he forced himself to stand up as well.

“For anything you want to bring,” Magnus snapped his fingers and a fairly large duffle bag appeared in the room.

Alec nodded and started grabbing some clothing from his closet. Magnus had to stop himself from wrinkling his nose at the God-awful huge and holey sweaters. Instead, he carefully placed the family photo and drawing from Max in the bag.

After a moment, Alec was trying to decide if he needed anything else. Everything he didn’t take would probably be either thrown away or up for grabs, so he didn’t want to miss something.

Magnus observed Alec’s in-concentration face. The light in the room was very dull, which made Alec’s dark hair and pale skin seem to glow a bit. His blue eyes were as lovely as usual, so much thought always seemed to be behind them. Alec’s jaw structure was definitely...oh what was it those Nephilim said...‘of the angel’?

An annoying ring interrupted Magnus’ admiration of Alec’s physique. The warlock realized it was his phone and hastily picked it up.

Alec observed Magnus’ in-concentration face. His eyeliner, cheek-bones, nails, and parts of his clothing glittered and shined - even in the dull lighting. Magnus had his hair a little different than Alec had previously seen, with a little streak of color and twist at the end. He was wearing a fancy deep-cut shirt which didn’t allow Alec to ignore the beginnings of an impressive and toned chest.

Alec was startled from his staring when Magnus cursed as he hung up the phone.

“What, what is it?” Alec asked.

“Well, it’s a good thing you have your weapons.”

“A demon attack?”

“Worse...an impatient and unhappy customer,” Magnus grumbled.

“Huh? Who?”

“A Fairchild of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you see that? That’s the plot inching forward ;)
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	5. Monsters stuck in your head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what weirdly inspires me to write? When I read a book or fanfic that I end up hating...for some reason that just makes me want to write my own stuff so I feel better haha.

Alec had to hurry to keep up with the warlock as they came up to a Manhattan apartment. Magnus barely had to knock once before the door opened - albeit, a crack with a chain-lock in place. Alec found himself looking at a woman with dark red hair and a nervous facial expression.

“What is he doing here?” the woman demanded, eying Alec...more specifically the light runes on his body.

“He-Alec won’t say anything,” Magnus reassured.

Then Magnus paused for a moment and rethought his statement.

“One moment please.”

The dapper warlock pulled the confused Shadowhunter to the side.

“Completely off topic and nothing to do with our current situation, but...well...how do you feel about Nephilim who go into hiding to escape the Govern’s grasp?”

“Uh...that they’re smart. Wait, people actually do that?”

“Yes, but not many get away with it for long.”

Magnus walked back to the door with a self-satisfied swagger. “See, he’s fine.” As if Alec saying he wouldn’t say anything proved everything in the world. Still, the woman conceded and closed the door to reopen it without the lock blocking all entrance.

“She’s in there,” the frantic woman pointed to a bedroom door. “She won’t come out. She won’t talk to me.”

“It’s alright, Jocelyn,” Magnus soothed. “I’ll take care of it. When did she start acting this way?”

“Just a few hours ago,” Jocelyn said. “She got back from hanging out with her best friend. Clary shouldn’t need another spell this soon, something must have happened.”

“Can I-Can I come with you?” Alec asked.

“Um sure…” Magnus couldn’t think of a good reason the Shadowhunter shouldn’t be allowed in. Leaving him to deal with Jocelyn who had an unfortunate history with his parents didn’t seem like a good idea anyway.

Magnus and Alec went up to the door, the warlock knocked lightly.

“Go away mom!” yelled whoever was inside.

Magnus hesitated with a glance to Alec. The Shadowhunter shrugged uneasily. Magnus unlocked the door with a flick of his wrist and opened it slowly.

“I’m here to talk to you about what you’ve been seeing. It’s okay, I’m here to help.”

The two cautiously entered the bedroom. They found a young adult who had the appearance of a miniature version of Jocelyn with slightly lighter hair. Clary sat on her bed in the messy room, looking like she could have a full break down any moment.

“Who are you? How did you unlock my door?” the fiery red-head demanded.

“Magic,” Magnus answered plainly. “I’m a warlock my dear. I’m here to help you so you stop seeing monsters and other disturbing images. I can make it all go away.”

Clary looked at Magnus with a mixture of disbelief and relief.

“Am I crazy?” she said with wide eyes towards Magnus. “I just-I don’t understand. I keep seeing things that shouldn’t exist!”

“Clary, right?” Alec spoke. Magnus was startled as Alec knelt down to her. “They exist, but most people can’t see them. Your mother is protecting you from our world. You should let Magnus put the spell back on.”

Magnus was touched seeing Alec try to comfort someone else. The young Shadowhunter usually looked to be the one in need of comfort. It made sense though, Alec was the oldest in his family. Magnus supposed Alec was used to the role, even if he hadn’t previously seen it.

“Why? How does my mom know about this? Wait if I’m not crazy, then why should I hide?”

“Well, people like us...people who can see,” Alec stopped himself from saying demons, “...monsters. We’re not in the best situation right now. It’s best for you to just stay out of our world, here with your mom and friends. Magnus can make it so you don’t see the monsters and they don’t see you.”

There was a long silence in which Magnus wished he had worn more comfortable shoes. Clary seemed to be weighing her options. Magnus knew he could always put it on without her consent, but it always felt wrong to do that...now that she knew the truth, he wanted to give her an actual choice.

“Oh-ok.” Magnus didn’t know why Clary suddenly trusted them, but he smiled reassuringly and moved forward.

“Wait...what is that?” Alec pointed at Clary’s notebook to the side of her bed. There were lots of drawings covering the pages. He saw quite a few runes he recognized, but others...others he’d never seen before.

“Oh…” Both Clary and Magnus were a bit startled at the change of topics. “I sketch things. Those symbols...they mean things to me.”

“Like what?”

“Knowledge,” Clary pointed to the knowledge rune, “Endurance,” she once again pointed to the correct rune. “Power, you know, whatever.”

“What about this one?” Alec pointed to one of the unfamiliar marks.

“Some of them I’m not really sure...I think that one is breathing underwater?”

“Interesting. Can I take this?”

“Uh sure, I draw them all the time.” Alec picked up the notebook, still staring at the foreign marks. Some of them looked a bit like other known runes.

“Alright, now that that’s covered, let’s carry on with the spell,” Magnus moved towards Clary. “Just relax, my dear. Everything will be better in a moment.”

 

* * *

 

“Should I even ask why you wanted her drawings?” Magnus said as he and Alec strolled away from the Fray household.

“They’re runes!” Alec’s voice took on a slightly higher pitch, as if he couldn’t believe Magnus would ask such a question.

“Well yes, I know...do you need extra practice drawing yours?”

“No, Magnus...” the words ‘she drew some news ones I’ve never seen before and I want to see if they somehow work’ were on the tip of his tongue. Something, some small but powerful part of him, changed that to, “I just didn’t want anything reminding her of the Shadow World.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Magnus said. With that, he took Alec’s hands and the two portaled back to Magnus’ Brooklyn loft.

The warlock looked around, considering some redecoration, and then back at the Shadowhunter who had his bags filled with his gathered possessions. Alec reminded Magnus of a pack-mule with all his things over his shoulders...if pack-mules were gorgeous and shy Shadowhunters, that is.

“Oh! I completely forgot about a bedroom for you.”

“That’s ok-” Alec quickly excused.

“No, no, we can do that right now. That way you’ll have some place to put all your...things.”

Magnus was slightly glaring at the black, old, baggy, sweatshirt Alec was currently taking out of his luggage. He quickly decided to focus on the new room instead of Alec’s questionable fashion sense.

“This is perfect actually, I was just thinking about redecorating!”

“Is there...anything you want me to do?”

Magnus held back a sigh - there was that voice again. One that sounded like a slave asking his master what his duties were.

“Are you offering as a guest?” Magnus kept his voice light, but rose an eyebrow.

“I’m not a guest, Magnus,” the Shadowhunter felt the need to point out.

“We’ve already discussed this, Alec. You’re my Shadowhunter-bodyguard, remember?”

“And when we’re here and you don’t need protection?” Alec held back saying Magnus really didn’t need his protection anytime.

“You’re my esteemed guest,” Magnus insisted with a cat-like grin. It used to unsettle Alec, but now he saw it as charming instead of cunning.

“You sure you don’t need my help making my room?” Alec was nothing if not persistent.

“Not unless you’re secretly a warlock. And I want it to be a surprise of course!”

“Okay, then I guess I’ll...train?”

“If that’s what you want to do in your spare time, far be it for me to stop you.”

“I haven’t used my bow and quiver in so long.” Alec petted the equipment as if it was Chairman Meow.

“It’s only been a few days!” Magnus laughed.

“Hey, try living without your cat...or your glitter...or your hair products...or--”

“Ok, ok, point taken.” Magnus held up his hands in mock surrender, making Alec smile (which was always the goal).

 

* * *

 

 _Hey guys, thanks for my phone._ Alec texted his parabatai and sister. _I’m not sure when’s the best time to talk...maybe tonight after Magnus goes to sleep?_

Alec pressed send and hid the phone back into one of the bags with his weapons. He glanced at the notebook he’d taken from the Clary girl. He told himself he knew better than to try some fake runes on his skin. He knew he was being ridiculous really, no one could make up new marks. Especially not a random Nephilim who didn’t even know about the Shadow World.

The Shadowhunter looked at his bow and quiver. He had planned to train...but where would he even do that? In the hallway? Magnus obviously hadn’t realized he needed some kind of training area to practice archery.

However, the runes…

Alec picked up the notebook and spotted the mark Clary said was for underwater breathing. Alec subconsciously breathed slowly in and out as he took his stele in hand. He berated himself for being stupid and naive, but drew the rune anyway. It stung a bit, being brand new on Alec’s skin, but he hardly noticed.

The young man went over to the kitchen cupboard and grabbed a deep bowl, filling it with water. He took one last look at the burning mark on his arm and then plunged his face into the clear liquid.

He waited a moment. Then took a breath. Then out. Then in again.

Alec snapped his head out of the water, sputtering in surprise.

The rune had worked. The made up rune. The rune that wasn’t in the Grey Book. The new rune.

What did this mean? What were the rest of the new runes in Clary’s notebook? How many new runes could Clary make? How powerful could they be? What would the Govern say to some Nephilim being able to make new runes?

Was there any possibility - Alec almost wouldn’t let himself think it - Was there any possibility a new rune could be powerful enough to help Shadowhunters overthrow the Govern of High Warlocks? Maybe. Wasn’t it Magnus who said all groups of people who are in charge one moment fall the next? Didn’t he say other warlocks weren’t in agreement with the Govern? Could this one girl, a redheaded firecracker, be the answer to equaling the playing field between Shadowhunters and warlocks? Possibly.

A small possibility, but one all the same.

All the recent changes in his life, starting with meeting Magnus Bane...Alec felt something he hadn’t in a long time: hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez Alec relax, no need to plan taking over the world when you just found some new runes...calm down. That’s enough plot for a bit, more Malec fluff/angst coming up :)
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and post~


	6. If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate finishing a stressful real-life work project, I decided to write this for you all :) I barely edited it, so there are probably some mistakes...forgive me

“Are you ready to see your new room?” Magnus called from the hallway.

Alec quickly snapped back to reality and rolled his sleeve down over the new rune. His mind was still racing with the newly acquired information, but he pushed the thoughts away.

The warlock strolled into his kitchen to find a Shadowhunter with water dripping from his face and a nearby bowl fill with water.

“Washing your face?” Magnus raised an eyebrow.

“Oh...yeah...I was...tired.”

“It _is_ getting late, we’ve had a long day.” That was an understatement, Magnus was quite proud of all they had accomplished. “And if I didn’t make this clear before, the bathroom is open for you to use. I have a private one in my room. Actually now you have a private one as well!”

“Great, thanks.” Alec tried to keep his voice light and carefree, but Magnus was still giving him an odd look.

The warlock decided not to pry and instead happily lead the Shadowhunter to his recently created room. With a smirk towards Alec, Magnus flung the doors open.

“Oh...wow.” There really wasn’t anything else Alec could say.

Alec thought Magnus’ room had been extravagant...but it didn’t even compare to the goddy room that was before him. Alec stared at it with a dumbfounded expression. All the bright fabrics, the mixture of different extreme styles, how was he supposed to stay there? He looked into the face of Hello Kitty on his pillows and decided he probably wouldn’t be sleeping at all. The entire room looked like a fashion magazine, kids toy magazine, and celebrity house magazine, all threw up together.

“Got you! Oh my god, your face...” Magnus started laughing harder than Alec had ever seen. He was practically doubling over on himself as Alec stared.

“Huh?”

Magnus was able to control himself enough to cast away the glamour spell. Suddenly the extreme decorations all disappeared and were replaced with much more reasonable ones. The room was still very nice and upscale, but much more toned down flashy wise. Elegant, but understated.

“I’m sorry, I just thought-I wish I’d taken a picture of your face,” Magnus chuckled good-naturedly.

“Well I was kind of in shock,” Alec answered truthfully.

“I just wanted to show you how bad it could’ve been, so hopefully you like your actual room much more.”

“Yeah, Magnus, it’s...it’s really nice.”

The warlock grinned at that and Alec found the side of his own lips curving up as well.

“I took some - very little - inspiration from your old room in the institute. Most of my ideas came from grunge or gothic styles since I know you Shadowhunters love dark colors. Then I gave it a bit of a polished look.”

“If the whole warlock thing doesn’t work out, maybe you can be an interior designer.”

Magnus was even happier having Alec joke back at him. He hoped Alec knew he wasn’t making fun of him, on the contrary Magnus wanted to encourage the light teasing between them.

“True, and my trademark could be terrifying my employers first and then showing them the real room!”

 

* * *

 

It turned out Alec didn’t have to pretend like he was exhausted and needed to call it a night - he really did. A few more light-hearted jokes were passed between them before Magnus made his exit.

The Shadowhunter forced himself to stay awake and wait patiently before a reasonable amount of time had passed. He drew a soundless rune on his arm and opened the door a crack to check. The apartment was completely dark and no sound was coming from anywhere.

His siblings answered the phone call after the first ring.

“Guys,” Alec’s voice sounded odd, even to himself. He realized it was because he sounded excited.

“Hi!” Izzy sang into the phone. “How are you? What’s going on?”

“One question at a time Iz,” the unmistakable voice of Alec’s parabatai chimed in.

“Is this line secure?” Alec butted in with his own question.

“Of course it is, I patched it through our systems myself.” Isabelle sounded almost insulted her brother wouldn’t assume that she had.

“Okay, wow,” Alec took a breath, “I kind of found something…” Alec didn’t know where to begin, so he blurted out, “There’s this girl who can make new runes. Ones that aren’t in the Grey Book or anything!”

There was a brief paused before:

“Uh what do you mean new runes?”

“She made a breathing underwater rune! Jace you know as well as I do, from that business in the Hudson River, no rune like that exists...or should exist I guess.”

“Alec...Alec have you been getting enough sleep lately?”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child, Jace,” Alec snapped. “I used the rune myself! It worked. You know what this means?”

“Wait you drew an unknown mark on yourself?” Izzy’s worried tone sounded just like their mother, but Alec was smart enough not to say so.

“Yeah, ok, it was stupid. But the point is it worked!”

“How? This is impossible...how many other runes has she made?”

“Not sure, she said they just appear in her mind or something. Who knows what kind of powerful runes she could create.”

“Who is this girl, Alec?” Jace asked.

“Clary...Clary Fairchild. She doesn’t know about our world, her mom kept her in hiding. Magnus-” Alec paused, “he has a glamour spell on her of some kind. It’s very powerful so he has to recast it every few years.”

“We need to find her, get her to make more runes,” Jace said.

“No, Magnus put the spell back on.”

“Well he can break it,” Jace insisted.

“She’s safer with no one else knowing about her ability,” Isabelle said. “Maybe...when we’re in a different position, we can help her. Not now.”

“I have her notebook with other new runes. I don’t know what they’re supposed to do, but I want to find out.”

“Alec, you can’t just try on mystery runes, they could be something dangerous.”

“That’s why we can ask that girl about them. Make her tell us what they do,” Jace brought up.

“We’re not dragging a mundane into this,” Alec dismissed. Before Jace could object, he added, “Not yet at least. I’ll keep the pages hidden, no one will suspect a Shadowhunter slave has anything so valuable.”

“Don’t call yourself that,” said his parabatai.

“It doesn’t matter, Magnus is treating me fine. Like a house guest...he even used that term. What’s going on over there?”

“Nothing out of the normal. We live to serve the Govern of High Warlocks,” Izzy said bitterly.

“It won’t always be like that,” her brother responded.

 

* * *

 

“Good god Malcolm, it’s the middle of the night. What do you want?” Magnus mumbled into the receiver of his cell phone.

He’d been having quite a lovely dream of having a tea party with Chairman Meow. The cat and warlock were just discussing which eyeliner of Magnus’ was best when the irritating ringing started.

“So you _are_ still alive!” his friend joyfully responded. “We weren’t sure...Magnus Bane hasn’t deemed any of us with his presence lately.”

There was a lot of background noise coming from Malcolm’s end and Magnus winced at his friend’s loud tone.

“Not even to show off his new Shadowhunter!” a female voice accused.

“You have a new Shadowhunter? What the hell I thought you were against all of that!” yet another annoyingly drunk person called. Magnus sighed and wiped a hand down his face.

“He was?” Malcolm was heard asking in the background. “Well not anymore, I sure cured him of that oversight.”

“What exactly did you call for?” Magnus asked, rolling his eyes.

“My goodness Magnus, it’s only 2AM, where’s your fun spirit?”

“It’s been a really long day,” Magnus answered honestly.

“You better get some sleep then because tomorrow you’re coming out with us!”

“Not just coming out to party, it’s the Abramelin Banquet! You know as well as I do, all high warlocks are supposed to attend.”

Magnus’ feline eyes widened at that. He’d forgotten all about the fancy occasion. A night of wealthy and powerful warlocks parading around…Magnus groaned at the thought. Not that Magnus didn’t enjoy a good party, on the contrary he threw the best ones, but whenever the Govern was in charge the “parties” wreaked of politics and agendas.

“I think I’ll pass,” Magnus said. The High Warlock of Brooklyn hadn’t attended one of those functions in years.

“Oh my dear, you can’t,” replied Malcolm happily. “Remember? Since you now have a Shadowhunter registered under your name, you have to attend all official Govern sanctioned events.”

“I can’t wait to meet this new accessory!” one of the girls exclaimed.

“Just tell them I’m too busy,” Magnus insisted, ignoring the girl objectifying Alec.

“Good luck trying to talk your way out of this one, my friend. I’m pretty sure they have attendance mandatory for personally bought Shadowhunters to make sure we aren’t abusing them or anything.”

Magnus had to hold back a snort. The Govern didn’t care about how poorly Shadowhunters were treated by warlocks who bought them. They just wanted to keep an eye on every little detail of the world they controlled. If the Govern thought Magnus wasn’t doing a good job “harnessing” the Shadowhunter they “graciously” allowed him to own, they’d take Alec back. They’d probably sell him to the next highest bidder...a warlock who was in their pocket.

“I’ll...talk to you later. Bye.” Without waiting to hear from the other side, Magnus hung up his phone. He layed in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to think of a way out of the situation that wouldn’t cause an issue with the Govern.

There really wasn’t another option. If the Govern thought he had something to hide - for instance that he didn’t treat Alec like property - they’d be alerted to watch him. He could try coming up with some excuses, but if they suspected anything they’d let it be known. Magnus shook his head slowly.

_How the hell am I going to tell Alec he has to be paraded around as my pretty Shadowhunter pet for the Govern?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I promise fluff? Hm...well...some major angst is coming so I’ll just apologize now.
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	7. Welcome to the other side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter has implied abuse (some sexual)...My descriptions aren’t detailed at all, but it’s definitely there and known as part of this fucked up AU society.

“Why?” was all Alec said to the unfortunate news the next morning.

The two were sat comfortably at the dining table, eating some scones Magnus prepared. He’d been trying to butter Alec up - get him talking about things he cared about. It took a few minutes before Alec asked point-blank if Magnus had anything to tell him. Magnus had, begrudgingly, told him they were expected to attend a big Govern gathering for warlocks.

“Why do we have to attend? Well I tried getting out of it, but-”

“Why is it so bad? You looked like you were about to tell me someone died. So we have to dress up and I have to act like the Govern’s perfect Shadowhunter...I’ve done both those things before. My whole life actually. No big deal.”

“You’ve...you’ve never been to a Govern party for High Warlocks. It’s for the wealthiest of the wealthy and the most powerful of the powerful. The only Shadowhunters there are ones who are personal...servants to a specific warlock.”

“Like me,” Alec shrugged.

“Yes, but you’ll see how normal - well you’ll see how awful Shadowhunters are usually treated by warlocks.” Magnus couldn’t seem to find the right words, which was strange for him. “It’s quite unsettling.” Alec gave him a questioning look.

“You do realize I’m aware of how the Shadow World works, right? I’m not an innocent child. I know you’re one of the only warlocks who would treat a Shadowhunter well and not like a slave. I know I’m not going to like the people there, it’s okay.”

Magnus paused and watched the young man carefully. Alec was eating the scones again and the warlock almost let the moment drop. Finally, he said:

“Knowing something and seeing it first hand are two different things.”  


* * *

  
Magnus tried to remember back to the last time he’d actually attended a Govern event. He realized he’d only gone to one and didn’t return. Magnus had gone to other meetings with High Warlocks when he had to of course, but the semi-annual Abramelin Banquet pulled out all the stops.

In the worst way.

The warlock and Shadowhunter arrived arm-in-arm looking ready for the red carpet, which in this case was a golden glittery one. That was the only Govern thing Magnus liked all night.

Magnus glanced over at Alec’s face as the two made their way to the castle that was bustling with activity. He hoped to see some sign of...emotion. Something he could help Alec with. Instead the Shadowhunter’s face was as blank as the stone walls they passed.

At least the afternoon had been relaxing. Alec did some training, Magnus made some potions for his storage. The two had easy conversation only - about the weather, their favorite types of food, whether or not Chairman needed a bath. Magnus was tip-toeing around Alec since the morning conversation and they both knew it.

“Magnus!” the High Warlock of Brooklyn was ready to turn to a Govern official or anyone else he’d rather not see, but to his relief it was actually a friendly face.

“Catarina, thank god! You got my message?”

“Well you know I never attend these awful events. I have far too many other things to occupy my time. But when a dear friend needs me, I appear!”

Alec was staring. He knew he was staring. But he couldn’t stop. The woman was blue. Completely blue. Most warlock marks Alec had seen consisted of something much smaller and less noticeable.

“This is…?” Catarina gestured to Alec as if she didn’t know. As if Magnus hadn’t texted her paragraphs of what to do with a scared Shadowhunter who had every right to be scared of their world. Catrina was the one who sent bits of advice and also reminded Magnus that if Alec had to be sold to a warlock, at least he was given to someone who was anti-slavery.

“Alec-this is Alec Lightwood,” Magnus answered when it appeared clear Alec wasn’t going to. The younger man was startled from hearing his own name, but then quickly bowed deeply to Catarina.

“Catarina Loss - powerful healing warlock of New York.” Alec looked like a puppet reciting a memorized script.

“Uh...Alec?” Magnus asked.

“Yes, sir?”

“Catarina is a good friend of mine. We believe the same things about how Shadowhunters are treated, there’s no reason to act so...proper.”

“Wasn’t I bought and given to you by a good friend?” Alec asked it with an annoyingly polite voice. It had a hint of an edge to it that matched his eyes. Nothing else about his posture, however, was off putting in any way. On the contrary it was very welcoming.

“Well he’s got you there,” Catarina laughed. “It probably _is_ best he keeps this decorum through the night, that way we can get through this as seamlessly as possible.”

With that, the triad faced the castle and stepped forward to the party.  


* * *

  
The first Shadowhunter slave Alec saw wasn’t _that_ bad. The middle-aged woman looked to be a maid or nanny more than anything else. She was cleaning up after a couple of people who chatted and paid her no mind. The retired Shadowhunter was dressed in drab clothes with stains caused by a child on them. Her runes were lighter from disuse than Alec had ever seen, almost invisible in the dull lighting.

The second Shadowhunter slave Alec saw looked somewhat familiar to him, but he couldn’t place the face. The man was around Alec’s age and his runes looked slightly darker than the maid’s. His master, an older woman with a warlock mark of horns, was doting upon him. She fed him cherries, very slowly. He was practically licking them from her finger-tips. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the nature of their relationship.

The third Shadowhunter slave Alec saw made him feel sick. It was a young girl - he knew legally she had to be eighteen, but she looked more like a sixteen year old. She was dressed in a very revealing, but glamorous outfit. The dress was something Izzy might wear on a date...the difference was Izzy chose to wear it and felt confident and beautiful in it. The girl Alec was currently observing didn’t decide what she wore and she definitely didn’t look comfortable. The young ex-Shadowhunter was practically terrified of everyone around her. Alec recognized the familiar twitch in her wrist, subconsciously expecting a weapon to be at her hip. He figured she must be new to being owned as well. Her master probably wasn’t anything like Magnus though.

“Alec, are you alright?” Magnus’ voice drew Alec out from his inner turmoil. The warlock gave him a concerned look as he handed Alec a drink.

“I just-I’m okay,” he muttered. He directed his attention to the lavish ballroom filled with people.

“We’ll leave as soon as it wouldn’t be taken as an insult to the Govern,” Magnus reassured. “You don’t even have to talk to anyone.”

“There are so many different warlocks here…”

“From all over the world and several dimensions. Warlocks do love to travel around, especially for a big party.”

Alec wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but he hadn’t known the banquet was for High Warlocks from _everywhere_. It just made the Govern seem so much bigger and more powerful than they already had appeared to him.

“Can we go hide away from the Govern after this?” Alec joked, but Magnus grabbed onto the idea.

“Of course, let’s take a vacation! There are some areas much less populated with other warlocks and the Govern. We can go anywhere you want...well, apart from Peru.”

Alec opened his mouth to respond, but he saw two figures approaching them.

“Ragnor Fell - the High Warlock of Los Angeles,” Alec said instead and bowed. Ragnor had appeared with a Govern official Magnus didn’t recognize. He looked quite older physically than most warlocks and even had a cane to walk with. Alec turned to the stranger and offered a, “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name, sir.”

“Your warlock should teach you to close your mouth every once in awhile,” the official snapped. “There’s no need to announce everyone’s arrival.”

“I apologize...I was taught this was correct etiquette.” Alec thought “taught” was a better thing to say than “forced down my throat”.

“Why are you still speaking to me?” the official glared daggers at the Shadowhunter. Alec thought it was quite fitting that his warlock mark was claws.

Magnus’ hold on his glass became firmer. He clutched the drink as he tried to clutch his temper and sanity.

“This is Magnus Bane,” Ragnor broke the tension gesturing to his friend. “Magnus, this is Aldous Nix. He wanted to speak to you.”

“About what exactly?” Magnus tried to keep the vice out of his voice. The rude man before him was a Govern official afterall. Magnus couldn’t kill the man and dispose of the body without someone noticing.

“There’s some Govern warlock business we need to address. Come with me please.” Aldous turned, obviously expecting to be followed.

“Alright.” Magnus and Alec started to follow before Aldous glanced over his shoulder and sighed very annoyed.

“Your Shadowhunter pet can’t come to our council meeting. Honestly, Magnus you act as if you’ve never been apart of our society.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure of attending to a Shadowhunter guest before,” Magnus replied silkily.

“Actually, you hardly show up to Govern programs unless you’re summoned. I’ve been a head counselor for ten years and yet I’ve never personally met you before. I hope we haven’t fallen out of favor with the High Warlock of Brooklyn?”

“Of course not, I merely would rather enjoy pleasures in life than attend stuffy meetings.”

“Of course,” Aldous had a cat-look in his eye that rivalled Magnus’ actual ones.

The two warlocks were ready to go toe-to-toe in a “catfight”, when another voice piped up to defuse the situation:

“I’ll stay with the Shadowhunter, go on,” Catarina encouraged.

Alec nodded slightly - so the Govern official wouldn’t notice - and Magnus pretended like he didn’t care about the situation.

“Lead the way.”  


* * *

  
The banquet was simply unbearable without Magnus and unfortunately he’d been gone for quite a while. Alec, being the handsome Shadowhunter he was, gained attention from several warlocks. He tried to blend in with the walls or hide behind Catarina, but he still felt probing eyes on him.

Catarina was speaking to a dark-skinned warlock about some business in Tahiti. It kept Alec’s interests for a few minutes, but he found his mind wandering to where Magnus was and what business he needed to attend to with that awful Aldous.

To distract himself, Alec started observing specific people in the room again. It was a mistake to do so. He saw the three ex-Shadowhunters he’d spotted earlier.

The young man who had been eating cherries from his warlock was now sitting with her at one of the dining tables. There was delicious food before them, but no one was eating. She chatted absentmindedly with a colleague. One of her hands was under the table out of view and Alec looked away when the Shadowhunter flinched violently.

The older woman was being berated viciously by her warlock. She stood out in the open of the floor as he loomed over her. Alec could catch bits of the conversation - apparently the Shadowhunter hadn’t retrieved her master and his friends a drink fast enough. The woman stared at the ground and uttered a “yes sir” or “no sir” whenever it was applicable.

The eighteen year old was trying to disappear into the background, but her appearance proved that to be impossible. There was a crowd of warlocks around her. They were gearing disgusting marks at the girl. Alec could only catch bits from the loudest of the people - statements about her appearance and what they’d all do to her, followed by haughty laughter.

Alec tore his eyes away from the ex-Shadowhunters again, but found another one cleaning up spills of alcohol on the banister. Alec turned his attention back to Catarina but couldn’t ignore the hungry looks he himself was getting from several warlocks. It seemed as the night went on and the alcohol settled the atmosphere became more toxic.

Alec felt dirty...uncomfortable in his own skin. The lights from the giant chandelier was suddenly blinding. He pulled at his shirt as he was too hot in his fancy suit.

The room of grinning warlock faces surrounded and whirled around him. Warlocks dressed in all kinds of festive outfits. They were all having a great time together: dancing, drinking, laughing. They didn’t care about the Shadowhunters that served them.

Fiery rage that Alec hadn’t felt in a long time burned up inside him. Magnus was right. Knowing something was happening and seeing it yourself was different. Alec felt a hand on his arm. He turned to it, hoping it was Magnus.

“Hey baby,” an unfamiliar voice slurred. “You know you’re too pretty to be out here all alone.”

Alec snapped his arm away from the stranger as Catarina turned towards them about to correct the man. Alec tried to stop the reflex, but it was too late.

The Shadowhunter punched the sleazy man to the ground and was holding him in a choke grip before Catarina could even utter a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter...the angst continues and everything gets a bit worse.
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	8. You're the life of the party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d just like you all to know that I love Alec Lightwood a lot and wish I could protect him from the world...but the AU I created won’t let me.

Magnus was alerted to a disturbance in the night by the yell of one Alec Lightwood.

“Let go of me you disgusting warlocks!” the Shadowhunter shouted as he was none-too-gently manhandled. There were spells whizzing around - one to bind his arms and legs from movement, one to cover his mouth so he couldn’t speak.

The High Warlock of Brooklyn didn’t take a moment to think, he rushed over to the scene...leaving behind two drinks he’d just ordered at the bar.

“What the hell are you doing with my Shadowhunter?” Magnus demanded. Luckily his tone of worry and anger could also be mistaken for just being offended someone else was touching his property.

“He assaulted Radford, we had to get him under control,” a warlock Magnus didn’t know or cared to know answered him. There was a large group of these warlocks who were just previously enjoying their carefree night and were now on red-alert.

“What?”

“He was defending himself against an unwanted pursuer,” Catarina spoke hastily by his side. “I’m sure you aren’t telling us any warlock can touch someone else’s Shadowhunter? A Shadowhunter that was sold to him specifically from the Govern?”

“Of course not-” the man sputtered, “but we had to do something!”

The Radford fellow Alec had apparently assaulted was being held back by warlocks as well. He was swearing up a storm, declaring all kinds of things he would do to “the Shadowhunter piece of shit”. Anyone not directly involved with keeping Alec and Radford at bay were staring at the scene as if it was the most entertaining thing they’d seen all night.

“What you need to do is let go of him and allow me to take him home.”

The warlocks who were holding Alec paused, unsure what to do or say to that. One of them looked about ready to speak and Magnus could swear his grip on Alec loosened. Radford snarled, but it turned out his protest wasn’t needed.

“That would be inappropriate as well,” another voice entered the conversation. A slightly familiar voice Magnus would rather not hear at that moment or ever again truthfully.

Aldous slid into the scene with four other Govern officials flanking him.

“Your boy assaulted a warlock...that’s a very serious crime,” Aldous said. His tone was calm, a stark contrast to the current atmosphere.

“There were extenuating circumstances, as Catarina explained.”

“Such matters aren’t to be solved with violence,” Aldous responded easily. “He was with Catarina Loss, no? Surely he could’ve merely told her of the intrusion and she would’ve settled it peacefully.”

“He-He was scared,” Magnus tried. If he could get enough warlocks surrounding the scene to feel sorry for Alec, maybe it would change the atmosphere of the crowd. The Govern members didn’t look impressed or moved at all.

“That aside,” Aldous continued to speak confidently, “Alec Lightwood must be punished for his transgression.”

“Punished?” Catarina spoke since Magnus was too stunned by the statement.

“Well we can’t have our Shadowhunters think they can do whatever they please, now can we? Rules are there for a reason. Those who break rules must be punished.”

“It better be a good punishment!” Radford yelled.

Alec was unable to speak due to the mouth-gag spell, but his chest was heaving harder than before. His eyes were staring terrified at Magnus, looking for some hope out of the situation. Magnus wished he could give him something.

“What the hell do you want to do to him?”

“Well _I_ can’t make that decision alone, of course. We need to assemble the Govern and have a trial.” A few murmurs of agreement from the other Govern members circled around.

“A trial?” Magnus demanded. “You’re acting like he killed someone! It was just a small scuffle...no need to get the rest of the Govern involved.”

“You want to keep us out of this?” a female Govern official by Aldous spoke up.

“No, I was just-”

“The High Warlock of Brooklyn is right,” another said. Magnus perked up at having a Govern member back him, but it was ruined by: “I mean the entire Govern is here this evening, why not merely put the Shadowhunter on trial now?”

 _“What?”_ both Magnus and Catarina said.

“Hmm,” Aldous drolled, “that is an interesting idea. However I believe some of our members are...occupied with their Shadowhunters or spouses at the moment.”

“Oh Aldous, always so proper. We have enough here for a minor incident,” the female Govern official said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Well, Nephthys, if you believe it’s appropriate...why not?”

“Wait, this is ridiculous! You mean to have this be a banquet activity?” Magnus spat at the Govern member.

“Oh Magnus,” Aldous said with a smirk. “You know Shadowhunters are here for our entertainment...might as well put on a good show now that we have the opportunity.”  
  


* * *

  
After that nothing else mattered.

Not the heavy protests from both Magnus and Catarina. Not the small disagreements from various other warlocks. Not Radford’s vicious threats. Not the absent-members of the Govern who were somewhere on the property being entertained in another way. Not the fact that the banquet ballroom wasn’t set up for a trial purpose. Not that they were supposed to have a grand speech about the Govern in this time space instead.

And surely not the terrified, eighteen year old, Shadowhunter with dark hair and blue eyes.

Magnus had always thought Alec’s eyes was one of his best qualities. They always conveyed so much emotion behind the blue orbs. Now Magnus would do anything for them to not show exactly how Alec was feeling. The once bright color was wide with fear and glossed over with sorrow.

Alec Lightwood was waiting to be judged in front of a room full of warlocks. Several spells were on him to make sure he couldn’t make a muscle, but he knew it would be no use if he even tried. Radford was currently speaking to the Govern council...well about two-thirds of the council. The rest of the high warlocks in attendance were enjoying the show.

Radford was pacing around giving a brief history of the warlock and Nephilim problems and clashes over the years. He told them how he’d innocently come up to talk to a strange Shadowhunter he hadn’t met. He described in great detail the pain and shock of being attacked by someone beneath him and what damage that could cause on his psyche.

“...how can we be expected to show our superiority to Nephilim, when one of them thinks it’s okay to attack us? Where did this young man get such ideas? They must be stopped! If I was-”

“Alright Radford, that’s enough,” Nephthys spoke. Radford looked hurt to be cut off from his dramatic story, but the woman ignored him. “Magnus Bane? You’re the boy’s warlock, what do you have to say about this incident?”

“He wasn’t even there!” Radford declared.

“He’s correct, however a recognized honest and fair warlock was.” Magnus gestured to Catarina who was standing next to him looking ready to brawl.

“I didn’t ask her,” Nephthys cut in before Catarina could speak. “Magnus, what do you have to say about this incident?”

“Well…” Magnus took a breath. _Show time._ “Obviously this Radford fellow decided to pull a move on _my_ Shadowhunter. The boy has been instructed by me to refuse any advancements from other warlocks. He might have over-reacted a bit, but he was startled from the man grabbing him and was only trying to obey my command. Therefore I don’t believe he needs to be punished by the Govern...I’ll of course punish him for his misjudgement when we get home.”

Magnus tried to ignore the flinch in Alec’s eyes. He hoped the Shadowhunter hadn’t just lost all faith in him...he knew my now that Magnus had to play the game, didn’t he?

“That’s a fair description,” Nephthys said as she moved a dark strand of her hair back. “Catarina, what says you?”

“Magnus is right, Alec was minding his own business being a good Shadowhunter accompanying me...I should’ve been watching him more closely honestly. Radford came out of nowhere and grabbed Alec, flirted with him, and Alec responded so fast I’m sure he hadn’t realized what he was doing. You know Shadowhunter reflexes.”

“Oh yes, we know,” Aldous said dryly. “That’s something they need beaten out of them I’m afraid.”

Magnus could only hope Aldous didn’t mean literally as Catarina continued:

“Be that as it may, Alec is brand new to this type of servitude so I think leniency is both wise and morally right.”

“Do both of you find Alec Lightwood to be a good Shadowhunter companion? Other than this incident of course.”

“Yes, definitely,” Magnus said quickly. “I’m very pleased with him. That’s why I ask the court for leniency. He’s quite obedient and greatly fulfills my needs. I just require a bit more time with him before he’s fully trained.”

“I agree. The boy is a stunning addition to Magnus’ exotic collections.”

“Alright, we’ve heard enough from all parties,” Aldous said. "It's time for us to make our decision on what should be done about this unruly Shadowhunter."

Magnus almost spoke up declaring that Alec hadn’t even been able to speak, but he caught himself in time.

“Let’s discuss then,” another Govern warlock addressed his colleagues.  
  


* * *

 

The discussion only took a few minutes. Magnus held his breath the whole time. He tried to convey some sympathy towards Alec, but the boy either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Catarina put a hand on Magnus’ back trying to sooth him.

When the Govern returned everyone was standing or sitting - or restrained in Alec’s case - just like they had before. The crowd was eager to hear the announcement of what would await the violent Shadowhunter.

A little part of Magnus died when he saw something he’d feared: Aldous was smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything took longer than I expected - so I guess you guys have to wait to hear the verdict...heh. Any guesses?
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update~


	9. Here's the pride before the fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad leaving you on another cliffhanger...so here you go. Also celebrating 100+ bookmarks and 600+ kudos! You guys are the best :)

_I’m going to die. They’re going to kill me._ Was the first coherent thought Alec had as he was pulled off the man who’d flirted with him.

He was waiting for one of the warlocks to murder him in some disturbing way. He was even ready to fight. The binding spells made that impossible of course, but still he struggled against them.

Alec heard Magnus’ voice and he felt relief flow through himself. The angry man he assaulted was yelling at him as other warlocks rushed to hold him back. Alec was not only bound by spells, but was also physically kept in the hands of a couple warlocks.

Magnus came onto the scene and just as Alec thought things might get better, a group of Govern officials showed up and everything got worse instead.

 

The trial went a lot faster than Alec had thought it would. He expected all kinds of witnesses and evidence as the mundanes did. Instead only a few people were asked what happened and then the Govern went to deliberate.

Alec forced himself not to look at Magnus. If he did he wasn’t sure he could keep the tears at bay. They’d been threatening to fall since the incident, but sheer stubbornness and determination to not look weak stopped them. He could feel Magnus’ gaze on him. He could feel Magnus’ pain and guilt. It was as if the warlock was going to be hurt instead of a mere Shadowhunter.

Through all of this Alec was able to keep his composure. That ended when Aldous rather joyfully announced his punishment.

“For a Shadowhunter who believes himself to be above warlocks - even for a moment - we’ve decided he needs to understand how unacceptable and untrue that is. He will be stripped of his runes so that he can mentally accept his new role in society.”

“You can’t!” Magnus declared as Alec started fighting the restraints with new vigor. “I need him for protection, that was one of the reasons I bought him. Taking his runes will make him less useful to me...he won’t be able to be my bodyguard.”

“You can always return him,” Aldous said.

“Aldous, stop it,” Nephthys glared at him. “We thought you’d say that, so we came up with an alternative.”

“Alternative?” Magnus asked suspiciously.

“Alec will have a powerful torture spell performed on him from the Book of the White. That’ll remind him of his place, but it isn’t so permanent as having his runes stripped.” Nephthys’ voice was almost kind.

“You’ll cast the spell of course,” Aldous eyes were dancing with mirth. “Prove to us you’re the appropriate master for such a Shadowhunter.”

Alec was roughly forced down to his knees. His mouth gag spell was lifted in order for the warlocks to enjoy the sound of his screams.

“I-You _can’t-_ ” Magnus sputtered.

He looked to Catarina but she had no helpful words for him. A member of the Govern stepped forward and revealed the Book of the White. She handed it to Magnus without a word.

“Go on now, we don’t have all night,” Aldous cooed.

Magnus just stared at Alec. A pit was deep in his stomach. The Shadowhunter found enough strength to smile and nod reassuringly at him.

“I’d rather have you do it than one of them anyway.” Alec’s voice was rough from disuse and he received a shove for speaking from one of his guards.

Magnus glared daggers at the Govern council. He slowly opened the Book of the White and stared down at the contents.

“Use any of them! _Crucio_ for example,” Aldous cast the spell towards Alec.

Intense pain exploded all over Alec’s body as he fell completely to the ground. Invisible knives were piercing his skin and his brain felt like it was going to combust. Alec writhed in agony for a moment, but the next moment it was over. Just a tease of what was to come.

Something in Magnus shifted.

“I do believe,” he said in a silky voice Alec had never heard before. “That is quite enough.”

Magnus started a spell...but it was not one to be used against Alec. He muttered incantations and moved his arms up and then out towards the crowd. Before any other warlock could react, they were engulfed in a thick black smoke coming from Magnus’ form. There were yells heard and spells cast, but nothing happened in retaliation. The warlocks weren’t any better than mundanes now. Alec hardly recognized this spell, he had only heard about it in tales since it was so rare.

“Hellmist,” Nephthys coughed. “How the hell-”

“I am not only the High Warlock of Brooklyn,” Magnus spoke from under his protection dome. One only he, Catarina, and Alec shared. “I am son to one of the most powerful greater demons in the universe. How dare you treat me this way. Act as if I am your subject and force me to hurt someone I care about! I could hold one of the highest positions in the Govern if I wanted to...and now I’ve decided to do just that.”

Alec was staring up at Magnus. His face was flushed and his chest was still breathing heavily. He felt like he should say something to Magnus - convince him not to go against the Govern for him. Instead he merely watched.

“You attack us and believe we’ll promote you?” Aldous demanded. He was itching to curse the outrageous warlock, but the mist was being held longer than he thought was possible.

Magnus let off a laugh, “I don’t expect you to _let_ me do anything. I’m taking my rightful place. Unless of course, you don’t want to see the Book of the White ever again? You probably shouldn't give such an important book out to a powerful warlock who can use it against you. Pride before the fall, and all that.”

“You’re threatening us?” another Govern councilmember said. “How dare you! We’re the Govern, you-”

“No you’re a shadow of what the Govern should be,” Catarina interrupted. “We aren’t the only ones who think that, we’re just finally doing something about it.”

“I will be joining as a high warlock councilmember,” Magnus announced. “I’ll be involved with the Govern’s decisions. If you don’t agree to that proposition, I’d like to remind you how vulnerable you are right now.”

The crowd had heard enough. There were threats and angry yells thrown at Magnus. Some even tried to physically push into the protection ward, but it was no use. A few tried to get to the doors...only to find them magically shielded shut.

“Silence!” Nephthys voice boomed through the banquet room. She glared down everyone until they were quiet and still, then turned back to Magnus. “We offered you a seat on the council years ago,” she sounded more confused than offended. “Why now are you suddenly so involved in politics?”

“I’ve turned a blind-eye to Govern business for too long. That was my mistake. I’ve only spent a few days with Alec and he’s already taught me so much more about this world. I cannot now stand idly by and do nothing while you lot go mad with power. You need more competent councilmember, like myself.”

“Let’s make a deal,” another Govern official spoke up. “Afterall, we shouldn’t be so stupid as to go against a powerful high warlock and his greater demon father. What Magnus is requiring isn’t so extreme.”

“He’s moved against us! He’s blocking our magic with Hellsmoke! How could we ever trust him?” Aldous demanded. A couple other Govern councilmembers murmured in agreement.

“He hasn’t harmed us...he’s prevented us from harming someone he cares about. As a Shadowhunter-owner myself, I don’t know if I would react differently. Some of us grow attached to them as more than just a playthings. This whole trial was for your sick enjoyment, Aldous.”

Magnus quite liked this new Govern official. He’d barely noticed him during the trial, the man hadn’t spoken a word. Now he had a lot to say.

“So now _you’re_ turning on us Kalro?” Aldous declared.

“Speaking out against a wrong move isn’t turning against us,” Nephthys cut in. “You’re quite sensitive tonight, Aldous. Now that the situation has changed, we must adapt with it before it spirals out of control. As the highest ranking Govern official currently here, I will discuss negotiations with Magnus Bane. Agreed?”

A slight majority of the council approved now that Nephthys had made her opinion known...still the decision only won the Govern vote by one warlock.

“I’m portaling out Catarina, Alec, and the Book of the White. Just in case,” Magnus replied, daring them to disagree.

“That’s reasonable.”

Magnus looked back at the two who were rather stunned by everything he’d just done. Magnus simply handed the spellbook to Catarina and opened a portal as if nothing of substantial note had occurred. Alec finally stood up from his place on the ground and moved closer to Magnus.

“Why? How?” Alec stuttered.

“I wasn’t going to let them hurt you.”

“I’m a Shadowhunter. You’re warlocks. It’s how it is.” Alec shrugged, but he wasn’t quite pulling off the martyr look.

“It’s not how it has to be.”

“I heard Hellmist is one of the rarest and hardest spells since it blocks other’s magic...how are you still holding it?”

“Did you miss my “I’m all powerful” speech?” Magnus smirked.

“Come on, Alec, let’s go,” Catarina spoke with a harshness in her tone Alec didn’t think was really appropriate. Catarina was also disapprovingly eying Magnus. Alec looked ready to protest but he let Catarina grab him and take him through the portal.

Nephthys came forward and after a moment of hesitation, was let into the protection dome. Magnus was prepared for her to attack him...he figured it would be a pretty even fight.

Nephthys did cast a spell - but it was a silencing one to keep their discussion private. She glanced at the magic-cancelling smoke that was still filling the room outside their protection.

“I’m impressed,” Nephthys said. “I haven’t seen such a power-move in quite a while. You remind me of a Roman emperor I used to know.”

“One can only take such injustice for so long.”

“You really care about him, don’t you?” There was a look in her eye that made Magnus shift uncomfortably. “I presume you’ll be fighting for Shadowhunter rights while you sit on the council.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Still, you must understand having a seat on the council doesn’t grant you unlimited power. If we vote a certain way, that’s how the mattered is handled...besides this specific case of course. You can’t start some ridiculous Shadowhunter rebellion, I won’t allow it.”

“Can _you_ cast a Hellmist spell?” Magnus smirked smugly at her. Nephthys glided forward and held Magnus’ chin almost like a lover would.

“Oh my dear, you have no idea what spells I can cast.”

It was said in a seductive tone, but was definitely a threat. Magnus had heard of how powerful she was...he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to overpower his magic.

“That being said,” Nephthys moved away. “I do believe you’ll be influential. You seem like a persuasive man. I look forward to seeing your additions to the Govern. I believe we’ve needed new blood for far too long.”

With that Nephthys turned towards the end of the protection guard, ready to leave.

“Did you want this to happen? Did you somehow guess how I’d react?” Magnus asked.

Nephthys stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him.

“Magnus, I’m one of the oldest warlocks in existence. I remember quite clearly when Shadowhunters and their precious Clave ruled over us. I was apart of the war that brought us in control. However, we have turned from our originally purpose and now get involved with meaningless matters. I’m always looking for like-minded individuals to be my new colleagues.”

“We aren’t like-minded,” Magnus quickly rejected.

“Very well...let’s say I’m entertained when the status quo is shaken up. It tends to shake the weaklings off and only let the strong remain.”  
  


* * *

  
The light was blinding. Probably because he just emerged from total darkness.

Alec blinked twice, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. He was laying on his bed...not the one is Magnus’ loft but his old bed in the institute. He shot up to meet familiar faces.

“Hey buddy,” Jace smiled at him but his eyes gave away how worried he was.

“How do you feel?” Izzy asked.

“Wait...what happened?” Alec’s tongue was thick and his voice sounded too deep.

“You were portaled here with Catarina. But the spell was a bit rough and you were knocked out.”

“Oh...right.” A bit of memory returned that Alec had lurched away from Catarina and made a hard impact. “Where’s Magnus?”

“He waiting outside. He didn’t know if you wanted to see him.”

“What? Of course I do, he can come in.” Alec even surprised himself with how much he wanted to see the warlock.

“Oh thank the heavens and hells!” Magnus claimed from outside the door. He walked into the room with a swagger like he owned the whole institute. “I did hope you wouldn’t be cross with me.”

“You saved me...why would I be cross with you?”

“Well last night was just such a mess...I wanted to make sure you were okay and weren’t frightened of me or anything. Waking up to your siblings seemed like the best idea.”

“What happened after I left?” Alec asked, sitting up in the bed.

“I made the official deal and was even sworn in before I lifted the Hellmist spell! You should’ve seen the warlock’s faces, they were in shock that I’d pulled it all off. The Govern officials and other high warlocks who missed the show couldn't believe it. Many warlocks even threatened my life as they were leaving the banquet...it was all very dramatic, like a theatre performance!”

“Yeah...yeah I bet.”

Alec looked down from Magnus, trying to absorb it all. He started played with one of his blankets absentmindedly and everyone could tell he had more to say. Magnus glanced at the other two in the room.

“We’ll give you guys some space,” Izzy announced. She took Jace by the arm as he muttered protests about “he’s _my_ parabatai”, and lead him out of the room.

“Why did you do that?” Alec asked once they were alone.

“I already told you. I wasn’t going to let them hurt you.”

“You’ve put yourself in a very vulnerable position. You made a move against the Govern...something you yourself said was unwise a couple days ago!” Alec shook his head, still in disbelief of the warlock’s actions.

“That was before the banquet. That was before they foolishly handed me the Book of the White. That was before they were going to make me harm you.”

“I would’ve been okay. I’m not a delicate flower, you know? I’m a Shadowhunter, a warrior.”

“I know that,” Magnus said gently, sitting on the part of the bed Alec wasn’t occupying. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna let them torture you.”

“But-but the ramifications! You just said other warlocks are threatening you because of this. What if the Govern sends an elite warlock force to kill you or something?”

“That would be unwise. Now that I’m a official Govern councilmember it would look quite badly to kill me off. I seem to even have a couple sympathizers on the Govern who would go against such action. You’re right though, I still need to keep an extra eye open. But don’t worry, I’ll keep us safe.”

“Okay I guess...if you’re sure.” There was a brief pause where Magnus was about to start a new conversation about what to have for dinner, but Alec continued, “What does this mean...for us?”

“Well I now hold an important council seat on the Govern. The warlocks at the banquet - and probably most warlocks in the world with how word spreads - know of my extreme power and heritage. I will be apart of the Govern votes for decisions including laws.”

“But other than that? I mean I’m still...your ‘bodyguard’ Shadowhunter.”

“Yes, for now. I’m afraid most of the other members of the Govern believe Shadowhunters are beneath us and should be used for our protection and enjoyment. I don’t know how successful I’ll be at changing their minds, but I will try.”

“Even having you there is an improvement.” Alec’s smile was beaming off him towards Magnus. “Now we need to get Catarina a spot and whoever else is actually sane.”

“Hm true,” Magnus smiled back at him. “You should get some more rest before we return to the loft. It was a very long and stressful night. Call if you need anything.” The warlock left without another word...only to run right into Catarina.

She looked like Chairman Meow did when he just cornered a mouse.

“I know what you did,” she accused.

“Please be more specific my dear.” Magnus tried to stroll past her, but she was persistent.

“Casting an all-covering Hellmist spell, keeping a dome of protection over us, and portaling us away, all at the same time? Even the great Magnus Bane couldn’t manage that alone...besides what the Govern now thinks.”

“Catarina-”

“You used him. You drew from his power.”

“I had no choice,” Magnus said. “The Abramelin Banquet showed me better than anything else how corrupt and disgusting the Govern has become.”

“We’ve always known the Govern is despicable!” Catarina had to keep herself from shouting. “But we’ve agreed making a move against them would be too dangerous. Now suddenly you attack a room full of them? What would’ve happened if Nephthys didn’t speak up for you? Only one warlock had to change their vote and then-”

“And then I would’ve held the Hellmist until they recounted.”

“Magnus Bane that is so not the point. Plus we both know you would’ve passed out within the hour!”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Magnus shrugged at her, not looking the least bit regretful.

“What did Aldous need to talk to you about?”

“I’m sorry, that’s official high warlock business.”

“Don’t be like that,” Catarina snapped. Magnus gave her an innocent expression as he played with one of his earrings. “Fine. What did you promise him?”

“Aldous? Nothing.”

“No. What did you promise that demon?”

“What if I told you he did it out of paternal love?” Magnus quipped.

“Demons don’t do anything that’s not in their self-interest. They always need something in return...especially your father Asmodeus.”

“That’s not important,” Magnus said with finality. “What’s important is I finally did the right thing. It merely took a Shadowhunter named Alec Lightwood to show me the way.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya’ll crack me up...who really thought Magnus was gonna continue to be the Govern’s bitch? Nah guys not when Alec’s in trouble :) 
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	10. Catch & Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the Angel, writer’s block is going to kill me. But I had to get this chapter out for the start of Malec Week!

“I need a drink,” was the first thing Magnus said as he entered his loft after the infamous Abramelin Banquet. This particular edition would be one for the history books.

“Yeah I think I could use one too,” Alec concurred.

Magnus glanced over his shoulder, perking up at that. Alec hadn’t wanted or accepted a drink from him before. He smiled to himself...any improvement was welcome.

“What’s your drink of choice?”

“Uh-I don’t have one...I haven’t really had alcohol before.”

“Really? Hmm...” Magnus paused for a moment, painted fingernails resting on his face.

Alec looked at the man as he really seemed to be giving thought to something as trivial as Alec’s drink choice. As the warlock was right in front of him, the well-trained Shadowhunter couldn’t help but notice a few things. Magnus subconsciously opened his mouth slightly, his index finger barely hanging out of it. Magnus’ hands were rather nice...objectively thinking of course. His hand brushed against his well-defined jawline. That was just a fact: Magnus had a well-defined jawline...that was rather nice to look at.

“Well I’ll whip you up something delicious.” Alec snapped back into their drink conversation as Magnus smiled at him. Without anything else to do, Alec just nodded.

Magnus strolled to the drink cart as Alec took a seat on the couch. The warlock poured himself straight scotch. For Alec’s drink he made sure it was fairly sweet with a small amount of vodka. He was originally going to go fancier, but then decided he didn’t want to shock the boy.

Alec accepted the colorful liquid as Magnus joined him on the couch.

“To us,” Magnus held out his glass. Alec smirked lightly at the random cheers and clinked their glasses.

The Shadowhunter took a sip and immediately flinched, making a face.

“Hm...interesting.” Alec smacked his lips and glanced up at Magnus to see if his startled expression had been noticed.

“Too strong?” The warlock tried to keep his voice from teasing...after all he barely put any vodka in!

“No, no, it tastes good,” Alec reassured. It did taste good, like pink lemonade...but the bitter taste of alcohol ruined it.

“Well you don’t have to finish it…”

“No I-” Alec paused, looking at the glass. Magnus gawked at him in shock as the Shadowhunter tilted his head back and chugged the entire liquid. He smacked his lips once more at the taste and then declared, “There, all done.”

“Oh,” Magnus paused, momentarily at a loss for words. He almost voiced the fact that one usually took sips as they socialized, but instead went with, “That’s one way to do it I suppose.”

 

A few minutes past and the warlock realized he should’ve put even less vodka in the drink...the Shadowhunter’s tolerance was apparently nonexistent.

Alec wasn’t staggering drunk by any means, but he was definitely buzzing...barely able to sit still. Even after the exhausting day he was now full of energy and ideas. Right before Magnus was going to suggest they just go to bed, Alec stood up abruptly.

“I’m going to go demon hunting,” he announced.

“Now?” Magnus asked, glancing at the large antique clock. It was an hour until midnight.

Alec walked away without responding. Mere moments later he reappeared in hunting gear, clutching his bow and arrows. Magnus just looked at him as the younger man made his way to the door. Suddenly Alec paused, glancing back. “You coming?”

“Oh-uh sure.”

Magnus placed his drink on the table and stood from the couch. Alec looked as if he was going to say something more, but instead he just turned and lead the pair out of the loft. Maybe Magnus _should’ve_ given him more to drink he mused to himself…a less guarded Alec was rather nice.  
  


* * *

  
The warlock wasn’t sure what he was expecting for Shadowhunter spontaneous demon hunting...but it wasn’t going after any demon they could find. But there they were: Magnus following a concentrated Alec who was somehow tracking demon locations from his phone. Was there an app for that?

“Okay perfect, a scorpios. Right nearby.” Alec turned to Magnus and the older man almost ran into him at the abrupt halt. Alec continued explaining, “Pretty easy to kill, it’ll be a quick one. Just make sure you don’t get impaled by it’s huge and incredibly fast stinging tail.”

“Wonderful,” Magnus snarked. “You know we could’ve just relaxed at home...after tonight’s escapades and everything.”

“It’s not even that late since the party was cut short. Plus I took a little nap at the institute. I’m wide awake now.”

“Yes…” Magnus hadn’t been referring to physically tired, “but everything that happened today...are you sure you’re up for this?”

“Of course I am,” Alec’s voice was sharp.

“Alright, alright,” Magnus accepted defeat. He gestured forward, “Lead the way.”

“Stay alert and ready for anything.” Alec sounded like an army general taking a green cadet into battle.

“Yes, yes, I will,” Magnus waved the younger man’s concerned tone off. “Let’s see what spell would be most effective for this type of demon?” Magnus muttered to himself.

Alec stopped and turned back to the warlock.

“Oh...no you aren’t going to be helping me. You’ve exerted yourself enough for one day.”

Magnus stared at him dumbfounded.

“Then what exactly is the point of me being here?”

“I just thought you’d like to come along for the ride...but if not you can always go take a nap over there,” Alec deadpanned as he gestured across the street to an alleyway overfilled with garbage. “I’ll come wake you up when I’m done.”

“I’m not sure I like you when you drink,” Magnus glared at him. He received a slight smirk in response.

With that, Alec decided the matter was settled and continued to lead Magnus through the streets of New York. The Shadowhunter hadn’t even let Magnus portal them anywhere!

“I really _can_ help,” Magnus insisted anyway, trying to ignore the way the moon was shining perfectly down on the Shadowhunter’s well-toned form. “Making the Govern my bitch didn’t take too much energy.”

Alec let out a light, easy, laugh at that. He turned back to the pursuing warlock.

“I’m sure...but…” Alec hesitated, glancing at the ground before meeting Magnus’ eyes. “Magic is your thing...I definitely saw that tonight. But this...this is what I do.”

 _“I want you to see it,”_ was on the tip of his tongue but it remained unspoken.  
  


* * *

 

  
“Alright the stinger really did almost get you that time!” Magnus called to the Shadowhunter. He was ontop of an old building - Alec’s request of course - watching the Shadowhunter battle a demon on the ground below. They were in a shady part of town but apparently the demon masqueraded as a well-known gangster, so no one messed with him.

That allowed Alec to have his fun.

“If you want me to get stung and die, go ahead and yell at me some more.” This was ridiculous of course, as Alec had been easily handling the demon. He even decided not to use his bow and arrows. Instead he was going for one-on-one sparring.

“Just trying to help.”

“I got this, trust me. I drew the speed rune for this exact reason, remember?”

Magnus did remember...well the drawing the rune part. But that was because it was placed on the side of Alec’s upper chest. He was obviously distracted and shouldn’t be expected to remember which rune it was!

“That was the speed rune? I thought it was really strong deodorant so you’d smell nice after this.”

“Oh please, I’m barely breaking a sweat.”

Alec didn’t add that it wasn’t the only rune he had put on right before jumping into this battle...he was also trying out one of Clary’s new runes. Something simply called “fearless”. Since it was an easy hunt - and his judgement was a bit more relaxed - he wanted to see what the rune’s effect would really be. He thought it would be like the “courage in battle” rune, but so far he hadn’t noticed anything.

The demon hissed and spewed some nonsense in it’s demon language at the two. It was then back to charging Alec. The annoyed scorpios hadn’t expected the Shadowhunter to be so alert as he was talking.

Alec easily dodged the stinger, then lept much closer to the demon. The creature tried to back up so his stinger would be in range, but knocked back into a large truck. So he lunged at the Shadowhunter with his razor sharp teeth instead. This was of course Alec’s plan and he easily moved out of the snap of the demon’s mouth. His seraph blade quickly slid across the scorpios’ throat.

The creature gave out a strangled cry of pain and shock. The large-scorpion looking creature stumbled forward before it’s body started sizzling. It’s entire form quaked and ultimately completely disintegrated.

“Very nice,” Magnus remarked as he walked towards the scene. “I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing such a talented Shadowhunter fight.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Alec immediately retorted. “You’re old, remember?”

As Magnus opened his mouth to object, he was distracted by Alec kneeling to the ground. The Shadowhunter rubbed his seraph blade off on the dead grass to the side of him. Then Alec simply laid on the filthy ground where the scorpios had disintegrated. He was all of a sudden very tired, even though he barely exerted himself in the fight. Magnus just looked down at him...confused at Alec’s odd decision.

“You’re so weird,” Alec drawled. He was staring up at Magnus, his eyes unwavering.

“Am I?” _I’m not the one who just laid down on the ground._ He was going to tease the boy, but the look of Alec laying there made him a little slower at responding.

“You aren’t supposed to be like this…” Alec said. “You aren’t supposed to be so likeable.”

“I know warlocks haven’t treated your people right,” Magnus offered. “I know it’s weird for me not to be like them.”

“No...Not just that. Catarina is a good warlock too. But you...there’s something different. I dunno what it is.”

“Well I _am_ the mysterious and magnificent Magnus Bane,” the warlock smirked. “One of a kind.”

“I think that’s your version of me saying I’m just a Shadowhunter and nothing else. It’s a facade. It makes you seem like you aren’t just a normal person with feelings.”

“Drunk people shouldn’t be able to say facade.”

“I’m not drunk!” Alec declared, very offended. “I only had one drink…”

“Of course not, my mistake.”

“I just feel like talking sheesh.” Alec glared at him. “Forgive me for wanting to get to know you better, I mean it’s not like we’ve known each other that long.”

Magnus couldn’t deny that, but he did say, “It seems longer.”

“That horrible banquet was only a few hours ago. Before that you were busy being scared of the banquet. Before that we went to help Clary. Before that we had to get my gear. Before that the vampire interrupted us. Before that…”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“We haven’t had a moment to breath. To think.”

Alec breathed deeply in and out. He averted his eyes from Magnus and instead was now gazing up at the dark night sky.

“Well this is an interesting time to stop and ponder the mysteries of the universe.”

With that a few moments of silence stretched between them.

“Why aren’t you down here?” Alec almost sounded offended that Magnus hadn’t joined him yet.

“Laying on the ground isn’t really-” without being able to finish his sentence, the warlock found his legs being taken out from under him.

Magnus fell to the ground, barely catching himself on his elbows so he didn’t smack the back of his head on asphalt. He was partially laying on his back, only propped up by his - now sore - elbows. Alec bursted out laughing loudly.

“Sorry, forgot you don’t have Shadowhunter reflexes!” Alec didn’t really seem apologetic, he was smiling brightly at Magnus.

“It’s alright I suppose…I mean you just assaulted me, but whatever.”

“Hmm,” Alec had a look in his eye Magnus hadn’t seen before. The younger man didn’t even hesitate before he put his left hand over Magnus’ right one. “Maybe I can make it up to you.”

Magnus’ hundreds-of-years-old heart stopped. Was Alec...coming on to him? No, this had to be because of the alcohol...the tiny bit of alcohol. Maybe mixed with the high of a hunt? Did the speed rune also speed up relationship evolutions?

Before Magnus could react - before his heart could even start back up again - Alec moved closer to him. He was up in a kneeling position now, his hand still on Magnus’, as he leaned forward. They were almost nose to nose.

“I like your eyes,” Alec said simply. “They used to be off-putting...threatening. But now I like them.”

“Well,” Magnus could barely breath, he was much too close to Alec, “I’m glad you aren’t threatened anymore.” Magnus quickly moved back, his face away from Alec before the younger man could do anything else.

“We should-we should probably get back home.” Magnus stood up quickly, taking a few steps away. Magnus was quite flustered by the man...he’d never known Alec to be this...touchy with him.

“I’m not even tired yet,” Alec yawned.

“Well-”

“We can stay here a little longer.” Alec moved quicker than Magnus was expecting. He was up off the ground and gazing intensely at the warlock once more. Barely a second passed before he moved his face even closer to Magnus, with obvious purpose in mind. His hands started to reach out...

“Alec, what are you doing?” The question sounded louder and more demanding than Magnus had intended.

Alec froze. He suddenly shook his head, as if trying to clear his mind. He looked up at Magnus as if startled the man was there. Alec stumbled back from the warlock.

“I don’t-Uh...Anyway let’s go.”

Alec quickly walked away from Magnus, not even glancing behind him to find if the warlock was following him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fearless rune appears to complicate things more :) Also Alec’s buzzed persona was based off one of my college friends...I poured her her first shot EVER and she was ready to take over the world!
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	11. Maybe in another life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter! Reminder: I’m a sucker for fluffy happy endings...but those have to be earned ;)

The next day Alec was even more illusive and closed off than Magnus had ever seen him. Even when he had first arrived. It seemed the night prior was a step forward too far and now they were stumbling backwards.

Magnus tried not to take it personally, he knew Alec was just a guarded person...still the warlock was quite unhappy with the new development.

_What did you expect? That you guys would date? He obviously regrets how he acted. Doesn’t matter anyway...it’s not right._

Magnus sighed. He absently stared at the spot where the Shadowhunter had disappeared moments before.

 

* * *

 

 _Oh god,_ Alec groaned just regaining consciousness from his nap. _That still happened._

It was barely in the afternoon. Alec had only gotten up in the first place because Chairman Meow decided the Shadowhunter needed breakfast and wouldn’t leave him alone. The cat was becoming a real pest.

Magnus hadn’t come to his bedroom at all. Alec hadn’t expected him to.

Breakfast was already made for Alec when the boy finally entered the dining room. Magnus had already finished his so he was up and about. The warlock tried to make conversation with Alec a few times, but to no avail. After forcing himself to take a few bites to satisfy the cat, Alec announced he was still tired and went back to bed.

Now he’d slept in much later than usual. Alec had a bit of a headache, but otherwise felt fine...physically. Mentally he was a mess.

For the millionth time that day Alec thought, _Runes and alcohol don’t mix. God he probably thinks I’m an idiot...I practically threw myself at him! Why would I even do that? Besides, he obviously wasn’t interested.  
_

 

* * *

 

Magnus was trying to keep himself occupied with various old potions he hadn’t quite mastered as Alec slept. But his concentration kept being ruined by Chairman complaining about something.

“How about you go look after Alec? You’re the only one he likes around here,” Magnus informed the cat.

As Chairman was weighing his options, Magnus finally gave up on distracting himself with chores and took out his phone.

“Catarina,” Magnus whispered when the woman answered.

“Magnus...Why are you whispering?”

“He tried to kiss me last night,” Magnus forced himself to say.

“What?” Catarina practically yelled.

“Oh god how could this happen? He thinks he has to be my perfect little slave-boyfriend or something! How did he get that idea? Did I act like I wanted that because I saved him at the banquet? He thinks I did that to put him more into my debt? Some power control game?”

As Magnus asked a million questions a minute, his mind was busy flashing back to other time periods. He remembered seeing humans who were slave owners. In different areas and times of the world human slaves were treated in a variety of ways. Magnus remembered the ones who were broken and silently did whatever their masters wanted. But Magnus also remember the pleasure slaves who had to pretend to enjoy their lot in life. Their masters wanted them to be active in their sexual relationship, not passive.

“I thought he knew I wasn’t like that! I thought-”

“Magnus stop it,” Catarina’s voice cut through the hysterics. “Alec doesn’t think of you like his master...at least not really anymore. There’s no way he tried to kiss you out of fear or duty or anything like that.”

“I gave him alcohol,” Magnus had to keep himself from shouting his sin.

“Wait...you did?” Catarina’s voice was half shocked and half concerned. “How much?”

“Just one shot of vodka...but apparently that’s all he needs! I should’ve known that or something. Then he took me on this hunt and killed a demon and then started acting really weird and laid on the ground and then tried to kiss me.”

“A demon? Maybe that’s it, maybe the demon did something to him!” Catarina tried, still attempting to wrap her head around this new information.

“I think he would’ve mentioned it if the lesser-demon had that kind of power…”

“Well now I’m really intrigued,” Catarina sounded too joyful for her friend’s taste.

“You’re acting like this is okay!” Magnus spat. “Alec - the man I currently legally own - tried to make a move on me. Why would he do that? What does this mean?”

“You aren’t asking the important question…” she declared. “Did you want him to kiss you?”

“Of course I’d want to kiss him, have you seen him? That isn’t the point! I can’t do anything...it’s not right. I technically own him.”

“Come now Magnus, it’s not like that. If you both like each other…”

“Catarina, stop it.” Magnus could practically see slaves of the past looking at him, haunting him, judging him.

“If you didn’t want to hear my opinion, why did you bother calling?”

Before Magnus could snap back at her, he heard a bedroom door open. Without even a goodbye, Magnus hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket.

Alec entered the room just as awkward and unsure of himself as he had that morning. He still looked tired, Magnus noticed.

“Good afternoon,” the warlock greeted with his attention on the potion ingredients.

“Uh-hey,” Alec replied shortly.

The Shadowhunter stood there with his hands in sweat-pockets. Alec seemed like he was observing Magnus fiddle with potions, but his eyes were elsewhere. He didn’t even pet Chairman when the cat swarmed around his ankles.

The silence was deafening until:

“Alec...can we please talk about it?” Magnus forced out.

“Talk about what?”

“Last night. You know...after the demon.”

“I got a little tipsy, sorry if I was acting weird.” Alec shrugged it off.

He was swaying slightly as if afraid to fully commit to any movement - either towards or away from where Magnus was standing.

“No it’s fine, you weren’t acting weird. I was just a bit caught off guard when you…” Magnus let his voice trail off, obviously expecting Alec to say something. When the boy gave no indication of this, Magnus gestured reassuringly to him.

“When I what?” Alec asked innocently.

“You…” _Just let it go._ “You uh…” _Don’t push him into talking about it._ “You tried to kiss me.” _That was a mistake._

“What?” Alec demanded, disgust evident on his face. “I didn’t try to kiss you. I was just talking to you. Why would you think that?

“Alec...it’s okay.”

“Why would I want to kiss a warlock? You’re delusional. I wasn’t...” His voice was sounding more and more desperate with every lie he forced himself to say. The panic in his tone told Magnus he’d made a big mistake bringing this up.

“Okay, nevermind, sorry. I’m just used to people wanting me I guess,” Magnus tried to ease the conversation back down. “I’m pretty full of myself ya know?”

Alec’s eyes were darting around like he was looking for an escape. He moved away from Magnus’ gaze and turned towards the loft entrance.

“Wait Alec-” Magnus moved towards the young man. Alec was like a scared wild animal, about to bolt and do something rash.

“I have to get out of here.”

“You can’t!” Magnus declared without thinking.

Alec froze. Magnus froze.

Alec looked over his shoulder at the warlock. The hurt and fear in his face was as if Magnus had slapped him. Alec’s eye held a certain amount of disbelief...but that was almost immediately replaced with a soft scoff and nod of acceptance.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that,” Magnus rushed to explain. “I mean-I feel like our conversation should be longer.”

The two made direct eye-contact for a moment more. Then Alec stiffly turned his body back to the man. His posture was the epitome of a slave requesting something from their master.

“Please allow me to leave, sir.”

“Alec, don’t...I…” Magnus wanted to explain himself...to correct himself and apologize. The Shadowhunter’s facial expression told him that wouldn’t be possible at the moment. Magnus begrudgingly realized there was no way he could save this conversation now, so the warlock receded. “Okay I’ll see you later.”

Alec nodded once and about-faced to the door. Magnus let out a frustrated breath as he watched the younger man’s retreating figure. An accusing meow lead him to look at a very unimpressed Chairman.

 

* * *

 

That’s how the Shadowhunter found himself walking the streets of Brooklyn in his sleep clothes without even a phone on him to call his siblings.

Alec had no idea where he was going, but each step he took was more protection. It was a brisk day, he really should’ve grabbed a jacket. However the heat in his heart and face did feel better with the wind blowing.

For just a moment - just a moment mind you - Alec allowed himself to picture what it would’ve been like if Magnus and he had met under different circumstances. Very different ones. Where they both had their agency and freedom, for one thing.

Would anything have happened between them? Would Magnus have even seen Alec in the crowd? Even less likely, would Alec have the courage to approach the gorgeous and powerful man? Doubtful.

Still there was a tiny sliver of “maybe”. If warlocks didn’t rule over Nephilim. If they lived in peace. Maybe...a slight maybe...Alec and Magnus could be together.

 

The people of Brooklyn didn’t notice him…even without his glamour. Alec was deep in thought even as his mind nagged him to make some use of his spontaneous adventure. The foggy air of Brooklyn was almost a comforting blanket shielding him from the world.

Suddenly, Alec was startled as he made out a figure running straight towards him. His eyes narrowed and he immediately shifted into a defensive position...until he saw who it was.

The young ex-Shadowhunter girl from the banquet. She was now standing right in front of him. Her eyes were no longer afraid. They were focused. Determined.

“Alec Lightwood?” she asked, not even out-of-breath.

“What...what are you doing here?” Alec glanced around, almost expecting some kind of Govern-sanctioned warlock attack.

“Please come with me. I have something to show you.”

“What? Who even are you?” He stared at her in confusion as she glanced over her shoulder.

“That’s not important. Please come with me.” The girl took Alec’s arm and tried to lead him in the direction she came from.

“How did you find me?” Alec asked.

“Also not important. Please, you need to see something.”

“Just...why?”

“Because at the moment you’re the only Shadowhunter who has any power in this world.”

 

* * *

 

The mysterious girl refused to say anything more and since Alec was incredibly intrigued he did end up going with her. They were running together in a dead sprint for several minutes...Alec was a bit proud both of their staminas were still up to par even after being slaves.

The pair came across an old closed down building. It didn’t look any different than the other ones in the shady neighborhood. However the girl slipped through a crack in the wood boards, silently beckoning Alec to follow.

They moved as quietly as Shadowhunters always did when they were infiltrating someplace. There were low voices growing louder as they made their way through the building. It was a gathering of some kind. The girl stopped once they hit another wall and held her hand up, pointing to the room they were right behind.

“You’re going about this all wrong,” Alec heard from the small crowd. “We need to go after his boy. It’s obviously his weak-spot.”

A cold shiver ran down Alec’s spine. He was pretty sure he knew what “boy” they were referring to.

“Oh yes, because that went so well last time,” another woman scoffed.

“I still can’t believe you let this happen…”

“You weren’t there, you didn’t see his power! Plus Nephthys stood up for him.”

“Speaking of, where is her loyalty lately? She seems to be playing some sort of game.”

“Aren’t we all?”

There were so many unknown voices, but Alec tried to catch every word that was spoken.

“ _We’re_ protecting our people and our status in society. She seems to be just observing what happens, not caring about the outcome or ramifications.”

“My dear friends, we’re getting off subject.” Alec gulped at the new voice.

“We need to move quickly, Aldous,” a frustrated person said. 

“Of course. Which is why the warlock and the boy have already been taken care of.”

“What?”

Alec looked back at the girl with wide-eyes. Her expression told him she didn’t know what they were talking about either. Alec forced himself to remain calm and listen to every detail.

“What are you saying?”

“I’ve set a plan in motion…” Aldous drawled.

“Without consulting us?”

“It will take care of Bane and his slave at the same time.”

“We can’t kill him, we’ve been over this. That shows the Govern as weak or in civil war.”

“And Magnus’ charade at the banquet didn’t already do that?” someone laughed without humor. 

“That was...unfortunate. But we needn’t overreact.”

“What is this plan you have figured out Aldous?”

“One moment, my friends…”

There was a beat of silence before Aldous continued,

“I do believe we have a Nephilim visitor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers, I must admit, I live for drama and cliffhangers.
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


	12. I’ll use you as a warning sign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this out a lot sooner, but real life got in the way! Also Chairman is becoming more of a prominent/important character than I originally anticipated...but I’m liking it

“Yes, I know that didn’t go well Chairman,” Magnus told the cat matter-of-factly. Magnus tapped his fingers on the table as he thought back to the conversation. He simply didn’t know what to do with Alec...the Shadowhunter was an enigma...a sensitive enigma.

The High Warlock of Brooklyn sighed as he glanced out the window. Apparently the anxious need to be out of his loft was contagious.

“I can’t just leave…” Magnus muttered to himself. “What if Alec comes back before I do?”

Chairman meowed as he gave him a certain “are you kidding me?” look.

“Maybe you’re right...maybe it would be better if I wasn’t here when he got back...I’m going out.”

 _Went out to Slaughters Nightclub with some friends. Text me if you need me._ Magnus wrote on a notepad in the main room. Then on second-thought he texted Alec the same thing...just to be sure.  


* * *

 

Alec’s heart stopped. He whipped his head back to where the girl was...or should’ve been. Wide-eyed and panicked, Alec hurried over to the corner where she had previously been standing. She was nowhere to be found.

“My dear girl, what are you doing here?” Aldous’ silky voice continued.

Alec let out a breath as he moved back to the peephole just in time to see the Shadowhunter girl being pulled into the room. All eyes were on her, the warlocks were like a pack of feral werewolves ready to pounce.

“I-” her voice wavered, “I was just wondering what the important meeting was about.”

“I told you specifically to stay at home.” Aldous’ claws squeezed firmly around the girl’s arm. “How does it look to have you disobey me?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I thought you might need me-” Before she could finish the word she was roughly thrown to the floor. The Shadowhunter skid across the ground until she hit against one of the warlocks’ legs.

Alec clenched his fist. He had nothing. His little temper tantrum had sent him out into the world without any gear at all. He knew better than that. If he had his bow and quiver he could have taken down a few warlocks, given the girl a fighting chance. As it was, he was utterly helpless.

“What is wrong with Shadowhunters nowadays? Why are you all being so defiant?” Aldous demanded.

“It’s that Lightwood brat,” another Govern official glared down at the girl. “Magnus lets him do whatever he wants so now others think they can too.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve just ran back home.” The girl was cowering before Aldous, but she was obviously speaking to Alec instead of her master.

Alec didn’t move. He accepted the fact he couldn’t help the girl...but he needed to find out what they had planned for Magnus. So he stayed still and watched.

Aldous was musing over a fitting punishment for his Shadowhunter slave. After a few terrifying suggestions from his comrades, he decided what to do. Without even an explanation, his hands started the enchantment.

“This curse will automatically be lifted once you return home...of course we won’t be portalling you. Since you’ve been so disobedient, you must find your own way.”

Suddenly the girl violently clung to her neck, gasping sounds coming from her mouth. Her lungs desperately tried to find air that in her mind wasn’t there. It took Alec a moment of horror to realize the curse was all in her head...she was actually breathing normally. However, she _believed_ she was choking. With all the trauma and pain that comes with it. The Shadowhunter rushed out of the room, beginning her long journey home.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” a rather large fish-scaled warlock sounded bored. “Will you enlighten us on your plan for The High Warlock of Brooklyn?”

“We kill Magnus by having Alec poison him,” Aldous announced.

“He’d never do that,” the scaled man scoffed.

“He doesn’t have to,” Aldous countered easily. “The evidence will condemn him and history will say he did it.”

“Then he’ll be killed obviously…”

“Yes as it always should’ve been. Rebellious Shadowhunters need to be put in their place...let his story be a warning to them.”

“You still haven’t told us _how_ this plan will work. What evidence are you creating?” a female warlock with pitch-black eyes asked. If eyes truly were windows into the soul, it was showing her lack of one.

“It’s very simple,” Aldous replied. “Magnus trusts Alec...a Shadowhunter he barely knows. I’ve acquired a shapeshifter to look like Alec. They make a drink for Magnus, the pretentious warlock is poisoned and dies. The real Alec is arrested, convicted, and killed. Understand?”

“Once Magnus realizes he’s been poisoned he’ll find an antidote.”

“Not when it’s one of the rarest poisons.” Aldous ruffled through his jacket pocket before taking out a clear bottle. “Quite expensive and difficult to come by. The Mozarc clan created it. I’ve given just enough to the Shapeshifter.”

“You really hate him, don’t you?” the woman’s tone sounded almost pitiful.

“Enough to go to these lengths…”

“We all need order restored. I told you all, I had it under control. I’ve even set up a demon hunt for Alec today that the Clave will notify him about, leaving Magnus all alone.”

“The shapeshifting demon is to be trusted?”

“I’m paying them far above their normal rate. They’ll be loyal. We have nothing to worry about.”

Alec stood rooted to the ground as the information sunk in. Different scenarios flashed through his mind of what he should do. He was numb to the rest of the warlocks’ meeting. It was quickly adjourned with each warlock going their separate ways.

 

Aldous strolled down the street, humming a tune. The meeting had gone just as well as he’d planned. Now he believed he deserved a treat and one of the best hole-in-the-wall bakeries was nearby.

He didn’t notice a shadow behind him.  


* * *

 

One stab to the throat with a broken piece of glass was all it took to take Aldous’ life. His reflexes were barely fast enough to start conjuring a defense spell before the shock of dying set in.

Alec didn’t even let the body drop before he was salvaging the pockets. Aldous’ glossed eyes enlarged when he saw who his killer was.

“You’re too late,” The warlock’s voice was almost incomprehensible as he choked on his own blood. “Magnus will be dead.”

“Thanks for keeping the poison on you,” was all Alec said as he took out the vial.

Aldous’ mouth curved into a confused frown...then, nothing.

 

Alec barely remembered to hide the body before he was sprinting back to the Brooklyn loft. He’d never killed an actual person before...only demons. But he simply didn’t have time to think about that.

 

Magnus wasn’t in his loft.

The door had been broken down and Chairman was nowhere to be found. There was some papers scattered around and furniture moved, but not enough for it to be a ransacking of the loft. Alec’s phone was noticeably missing.

“Magnus?” Alec called again, even though he’d already searched through the whole apartment. He was looking for any clues to where Magnus could’ve gone when he heard some rustling at the window. Seraph blade drawn and ready, Alec went to investigate.

In hopped Chairman Meow from the balcony with something in his mouth. The cat rubbed at Alec’s arm and presented a wad of paper to him. The cat meowed in concern as Alec read the contents.

“Someone was here, weren’t they? Looking for Magnus? Do they know where he is?”

Chairman gave a sad cry in affirmative.  


* * *

 

It was a weekday afternoon so Magnus shouldn’t have been surprised to see a mostly empty club. Still, he had been hoping for more excitement. He really just needed some good old fashioned distraction.

Magnus was sitting on a barstool, chatting with his old friend and main bartender at the club, Diego. The man was used to hearing all kinds of relationship issues - romantic or otherwise. But not even his sage advice or great selection of alcohol could improve Magnus’ mood. His whole situation with Alec was overwhelming.

An attractive werewolf bought Magnus another drink and asked what he was doing sitting alone at a nightclub. Magnus was about to reply he owned the nightclub so all the drinks were free for him, but his phone’s vibration distracted him.

 _Hey can we talk?_ Alec’s text message said. _Can I come to the club?_

 _Of course...to both questions :)_ Magnus replied.

He hadn’t thought leaving a note for Alec telling him his whereabouts would provoke the younger man to meet him, but he was glad Alec seemed to have calmed down. Talking was better than avoiding him. Not that Magnus was going to bring up the almost-kiss again.

Not ever again.

It didn’t take long for the Shadowhunter to arrive. He was the only non-Downworlder in the place, but looked at ease. A lot more at ease than Magnus was expecting after their last encounter.

“Hello Alec, nice of you to join me,” Magnus welcomed.

Alec merely nodded at him, seeming like he was looking through Magnus rather than at him. Diego raised an eyebrow as he cleaned a used wine glass.

“This is one of my favorite bartenders...one of the only people in the world who can make a better Bloody Mary than me.”

“Nice to meet you. May I try?”

The abrupt change in conversation caught Magnus and Diego off guard for a moment. They both realized what he meant at the same time.

“Making a drink?” Magnus sputtered at the request. Alec had his first sip of alcohol the previous night and now he wanted to take up bartending?

“Looks like fun.” Alec shrugged his shoulders.

“I suppose…”

“I’ll help him,” Diego grinned at Magnus.

Alec was a natural, Diego and Magnus were both impressed. Until he dropped the mixer. Alec fumbled an apology and bent down to retrieve the container. Even with that mistake, Diego still gave him a rave review as Alec poured two glasses full.

“To us,” Alec cheersed with the still baffled Magnus. The warlock had barely taken a second sip before Alec was addressing him again.

“Do you want to go somewhere...more private?”

 _Oh by the heaven and hells this_ can’t _be happening again. I know I’m irresistible but dammit!_

“Alec…”

“So we can talk,” the younger man said simply. “Come on.” Alec stalked away from him with drink half-empty in hand.

Magnus had little choice but to follow.  


* * *

 

The real Alec Lightwood had spent too much time at the loft and too much time trying to find his phone. He burst into the nightclub out of breath with an arrow already notched in his bow.

“Magnus? Magnus where are you?” he shouted over the music.

“Alec?” a man behind the bar was giving him an odd look.

“Who are you?”

“Didn’t you just go back there with Magnus?”

“What?” Alec’s heart was in his throat and he dashed over to where Diego gestured.

Alec stepped through the glittery curtain of the backroom to find exactly what he’d been afraid of: Magnus was laying on the ground with a spilled glass by his outstretched hand. There was signs of a scuffle and even some demon blood on the floor. Wasting no time, Alec dragged Magnus’ barely conscious form over to a chair to lean him up against. He shook him, trying to keep the warlock awake or somewhat coherent.

“I knew it wasn’t you,” Magnus’ voice was heavy...every breath was belabored.

“Magnus please...you can’t die. I need you.” Alec was practically clinging onto Magnus’ shirt as the man’s eyes kept fluttering closed.

“Go,” Magnus croaked. “Go to Catarina...she’ll keep you safe.”

“No Magnus, _you_ can’t die,” Alec found himself begging.

Before he could become too hysterical, Alec’s Shadowhunters instincts kicked in. He went through Magnus’ pockets until he found his cell phone. Luckily the call answered after the first ring.

“Catarina,” Alec’s voice immediately alerted her of the seriousness of the situation. “You’re a healer, right? Magnus needs you. I don’t...I don’t know what to do.”

“Alec, what’s wrong? How is Magnus hurt?”

“He’s been poisoned. It’s something rare, but I have it so we can figure out the cure.”

“How does he look?”

“I don’t know, like he’s been poisoned!”

“Alec, listen to me. Does he have any markings appear or color changes?”

“No...he just looks drowsy, basically unconscious.”

“Where are you?”

“Slaughters Nightclub...back room. We can go to the institute and you can work your magic there.”

“Good idea. I’ll grab a few possible antidotes and be there soon.”

Alec hung up without saying goodbye and dialed the next number. This one took far longer to answer.

“What have you done with my brother, now?” Izzy asked.

“There’s no time to explain, I need you to run analysis on a poison.”

“Alec?” her voice turned into concerned sister in no time at all.

“Magnus is hurt. Tell the Clave a Govern representative needs our help. I’m about to portal to the institute’s infirmary with Catarina. She’s a great healer but she’ll need help and our resources.”

As if answering to her name, Catarina portalled into the backroom of the nightclub. She had a bag full of rare healing ingredients that could be useful. Rushing over to the unconscious Magnus, Catarina checked for a pulse to find it barely hanging on.

“We need to go.”  


* * *

 

They found the institute hustling and bustling. Afterall, it wasn’t everyday a high warlock needed their lowly Shadowhunter help.

Magnus was immediately taken into the infirmary with Catarina leading the charge. Alec kept up behind them, until a Nephilim healer came up to him.

“The sample?” he asked. Alec was about to hand it over before a manicured hand snatched it out of his grasp.

“I’ll take that,” Izzy said. “Alec, do you have any details about the poison?”

“Just that it’s rare and some people called the Mozarc clan make it. You’ll be able to figure out the antidote, right?”

“Of course, look who you’re talking to,” Izzy smiled reassuringly, sounding much more sure of herself than she actually felt.

Isabelle marched into the hospital area with vial in hand, moving to the large scientific analytical monitors. Alec started to follow his sister into the infirmary, but his old mentor blocked the way.

“You aren’t needed here,” Hodge said. “This is the Govern business.”

“Alec?” Catarina called. Alec looked over Hodge’s shoulder at her. “Magnus is asking for you.”

The young Lightwood gave Hodge a smug look before moving past him. The infirmary was buzzing with activity. Catarina was at the head of Magnus’ bed, shouting orders at anyone available.

“Where is he?” Magnus’ voice was drowsy and somewhat delirious. “Is he okay?”

“You really shouldn’t be worried about _me_ right now,” Alec said as he came up to the bed.

“They’ll think you did it…” The nonexistent power in Magnus’ voice scared Alec. He’d never sounded like this. To Alec at least.

“That doesn’t matter,” Alec informed the warlock. “Nothing matters except you getting better.”

Magnus’ forehead crinkled. Catarina held a liquid to his lips and had him drink before he could reply. They were taking other vitals from the warlock as Magnus stared at Alec. Finally, he spoke again.

“You...you actually care about me?” Magnus asked softly.

“You stupid warlock. Why else would I be here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This note has been in my outline since the beginning: Alec straight up kills Aldous after he hurts Magnus and it’s gonna be LIT
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update~


	13. All that’s left is you and me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off: I love you all and I’m sorry this chapter has been so late! Honestly I just couldn’t get it quite right...but I’m forcing myself to update.
> 
> Secondly: THE MALEC PROMO BY THE ANGEL I’M DEAD!!

Alec didn’t leave the bedside, even when Jace tried to manhandle him away from it to get some sleep.

Magnus looked so incredibly still. So wrong. His makeup was smeared, his clothes were uncharacteristically bland, and the glitter that usually accented his features had just about all fallen off.

It had taken Isabelle and Catarina’s combined efforts to create the correct antidote. A bit of trial and error had occurred...at one point Magnus’ face turned as blue as Catarina’s warlock mark. Both women pressed onward with finding a cure, ignoring Alec’s sounds of alarm.

Now that Magnus was cured, Alec expected him to open his eyes at any moment. He certainly wanted to be there when the warlock woke up.

Once Catarina gave the okay they moved Magnus out of the infirmary and into Alec’s old room. They figured he’d rather have privacy instead of Nephilim strangers poking and prodding at him.

The blue-eyed Shadowhunter was alone with the unconscious form as the minutes ticked by. He didn’t dare take his attention off the warlock, not even for a moment.

Logically, Alec knew Magnus was going to be okay. His sister - one of the most intelligent people he knew - and Catarina - a powerful healing warlock - both said Magnus was cured of the poison. But the lack of physical proof made it difficult for Alec to believe the man was going to be all right.

Time dragged on. Time didn’t seem to exist at all in the quiet room. Magnus and Alec’s breathing was the only thing occurring.

Suddenly Magnus’ eyes snapped open in alarm, his upper body launched up from the bed. Magnus’ mind searched for answers until he saw Alec standing over him. Alec’s eyes showed a mixture of alarm and relief. He settled back almost immediately.

“You’re...you’re still here,” the warlock’s voice was stiff with disuse.

“Where else would I be?”

“Escaping to freedom,” Magnus tried to joke. “Maybe making a deal with Aldous to turn me over in exchange for your freedom?”

“I don’t think Aldous will be making any deals now,” Catarina strolled into the bedroom-make-shift-hospital room with Isabelle and Jace following close behind her.

“Why is that?” Magnus asked casually as Alec froze.

“His body was just found...Aldous was murdered.”

Magnus gave her a stunned expression, but before he could speak:

“Oh yeah. I did that,” Alec said simply.

* * *

 

If Alec had known everyone would be talking all at once and loudly demanding information from him he might not have spoken up.

“He’s the one who poisoned Magnus,” Alec interrupted them all as if that explained everything.

“So you _killed_ him?” Catarina kept her voice down, but she was noticeably seething.

“I needed to get the poison vial. Plus it wasn’t even hard.”

“I’ve never been prouder of you,” Jace declared.

“Jace, this isn’t the time,” Izzy said. She glanced at the closed door, hoping all of their acquisitions had gone unheard.

“You didn’t even hide the body?” Catarina was like a mother scolding her child for stealing a piece of candy.

“I did...just obviously not very well. I was sort of preoccupied in trying to save Magnus’ life!”

“Which is appreciated,” Magnus piped up. His brain was busy trying to process all the information before him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t chime in every now and again.

“This is _bad_ Lightwood,” Catarina spat, obviously aggravated.

“They don’t have any proof point to Alec,” said Jace. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be standing here right now. How did you kill him?”

“I broke a discarded bottle and slit his throat with it.”

“What did you do with the bottle afterwards?” Izzy asked since Jace was too busy being impressed by his parabatai.

Alec had to stop and think about that. He remembered hiding the body and...throwing the bottle? No, he saw the blood stain and thought better than that. He’d taken it with him to the loft so he could fight off the demon if it was in there. Then,

“It’s on the coffee table in Magnus’ loft.”

“Ok, well someone needs to get rid of that.”

“I’ll portal it to another dimension,” Catarina volunteered. “In different pieces. Yes, I’ll smash it up and portal each individual piece to far away dimensions.”

Alec thought she was widely overreacting, but he kept that thought to himself. It seemed the air was let back into the room as Catarina left.

“You really killed him just like that?” Magnus was giving Alec a strange look...he couldn’t place it.

“I thought about torturing the cure out of him...but I didn’t know if he knew it and I wasn’t sure I could take him one-on-one if he was prepared. Sneak attack seemed best.”

“Why didn’t you have any weapons on you?” his parabatai wanted to know.

“Uh...well…” Alec didn’t exactly want to share the dispute between himself and the High Warlock of Brooklyn.

“I wanted him to walk my cat,” Magnus quipped. “Chairman Meow is very high maintenance and felt uncomfortable with Alec having any weapons while they were out together. I’m sorry, Alec, it’s my fault you were put in that situation.”

The other two people in the room had no idea what the secret apology was actually for. Izzy did decide she’d talk to Magnus about being more careful in the future...it’s ridiculous to expect a Shadowhunter to venture out without gear. And for a cat?

“Don’t be sorry...I should’ve talked to Chairman about it and I’m sure he would’ve understood. And if I wouldn’t have found them, you could be dead. Who knows if Izzy or Catarina could’ve found a cure without the poison sample.”

Jace’s pretty face scrunched together. “How _did_ you find the meeting of warlocks?”

“By the Angel, Jace, do you have to ask everything right now?” Alec groaned.

“Hey, I was being sensitive earlier. I didn’t ask you _anything_ while you waited for Magnus to wake up.”

“Is that why you tried to drag me out of here?”

“ _That_ was for your health...you need your rest.”

“Oh yes, Alec,” Magnus intervened in the parabatai quarrel. “You must be exhausted. Please sleep.”

Instead of wiping the smug look off his brother’s face, Alec relented. He _was_ exhausted and since no one was in immediate danger it was probably best for him to get some rest.

* * *

 

Alec woke from a dreamless sleep to find Izzy sitting next to him. She stared at the plain wall, thoughts consumed her.

“They’ve brought Aldous’ body in for examination,” his sister practically whispered. “The warlock forensic team have already looked at it of course. They say there’s no trace of any kind of magic, except for Aldous beginning a defense spell.”

“I’d think the giant cut in the side of his neck would show the cause of death,” Alec muttered.

“The Govern is nothing if not thorough. I know some officials have come forward who were around Aldous before he died. No idea what they’ve reported.”

Isabelle’s eyes flashed around the room as if she expected to find a spy lurking and listening to their conversation. Her hand rested on Alec’s upper arm.

“No one knew I was there...but Aldous’ Shadowhunter girl was there. He cursed her and she left but...do you think they’ll try to pin it on her?”

“I honestly have no idea.” Isabelle frowned at the thought and made a mental note to check for more information on the girl.

“She’s the one who led me to the meeting...she knew it was important somehow. She said I was the only Shadowhunter with any power. I can’t let her take the fall for this,” Alec’s voice was resolute. “I already stood by and watched the warlocks torment her...first at a banquet and then the meeting.”

“Do you have any idea who she is?”

“No. I mean...she kind of looked familiar, but I can’t place it.”

Alec felt useless. He hated feeling useless. Before he could wallow more in self-loathing, Isabelle changed the subject:

“It’s only a matter of time before the Govern finds it suspicious an attempt on Magnus’ life was made _and Aldous was killed almost simultaneously.”_

“They’d be stupid if they haven’t already suspected a connection.”

“Lucky for us they have to prove it.”

“What do we know about their investigation?”

“Govern officials are speaking to Magnus right now,” Alec’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t worry, we came up with the story. That’s why I’m here.”

“Alright.” Alec sat up in the bed a little straighter.

“We need to stick to as much truth as possible. You were walking the cat, came home and saw Magnus’ note to meet him at the club. You couldn’t find your phone but went anyway. You found him and tried to help him. That’s it. No mention of Aldous at all.”

“What about the vial of poison?”

“You wrestled it from the demon.”

“The warlocks who were with Aldous knew he had it on him. He was showing it off!”

“Yes and that would show that they were involved in Magnus’ attempted murder.”

“So I’m going to lie to the Govern even though a couple of their members know for a fact I’m lying?”

“Yes. They wouldn’t dare purger themselves.”

“Risky,” Alec muttered.

“Killing a Govern warlock is quite risky, you’re right,” Isabelle snapped. Her brother observed the anger in her dark eyes.

“What do you want me to say? That I regret it? Well I don’t. He deserved what he got.”

“I’m just confused why my “think everything through” brother made such a rash and thoughtless decision.”

Isabelle got to her feet and sauntered to the door, her heels clicking the whole way. Before leaving the room she looked over her shoulder and said,

“Maybe it has to do with the High Warlock of Brooklyn.”

* * *

 

Magnus hadn’t felt so lousy in a long time...and he’d lived through several devastating plagues. Everyone in the New York Institute was fussing over him. He didn’t mind the attention, he was Magnus Bane afterall, but he was in the embarrassing situation of having been successfully poisoned.

The fact a shapeshifting demon had fooled him into thinking it was Alec - ha! Magnus would never live that down. True, the cirade only lasted a few minutes in total, but it was still a travesty. Magnus had barely been able to harm the demon before it got away.

One positive thing from this predicament was that in his delirious state he blatantly asked Alec if he cared about him. The vulnerability of it all! The Lightwood had called him stupid which was a bit uncalled for, but his answer remained the same: Alec cared about Magnus.

The Shadowhunter cared about the warlock.

Alec was given every chance to flee or go into hiding. He was the main and only suspect of attempting to poison Magnus if the warlock hadn’t pulled through. But Alec stayed by his side, waiting to see if he was okay. Luckily he was and reported to the Govern official that it was a shapeshifting demon - Diego was able to backup the story.

The Shadowhunter also killed Aldous to help him. Neither Alec - nor anyone else - was overly fond of Aldous, but Magnus knew how gutsy it was for a Nephilim to kill a warlock. Neither of them were questioned about Aldous’ murder, but it was only a matter of time. Magnus had half-expected the Govern officials investigating his assasination attempt to bring up Aldous, but they hadn’t.

A light knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes?”

The door opened a crack and Magnus could see the deep blue eyes peering in.

“Are you awake?”

“I should be asking you that. Come in, come in. It was your room afterall.”

“I have a new one now,” Alec said as he entered the room. That sentence alone made Magnus happier than he would care to admit.

“How are you feeling?” Alec looked unsure of himself, hesitant of what he was doing.

“Oh just fine I suppose,” Magnus said, his long fingernails running through the quaff of his hair. “I’m not use to being poisoned but it hasn’t been that bad.”

“You could’ve died.”

“Yet I didn’t. Which I do have you to thank for that.”

Alec shrugged. “I just got done talking to the Govern officials. It was pretty simple...they barely wrote anything down.”

“Govern representatives are spread thin right now. I believe we’ll have a more intense questioning later along with a Govern meeting to discuss the situation.”

“At least we had time to get our stories straight.”

“I’m also part of the Govern so my story holds more weight than a regular warlock. It should be a painless experience.”

“Why did you tell my siblings I was walking Chairman?” Out of all the things Alec could want to discuss with him, Magnus was surprised by the question. “That was just another way our story could get messed up. A needless lie.”

“There’s no reason for our...quarrel to be in the official reports,” Magnus reasoned.

“Well it’s why I left without my cell phone or weapons.”

“Personal Shadowhunters don’t usually have phones or weapons anyway.”

Alec seemed to accept that answer. But before Magnus could change the subject, Alec opened his mouth once more. A look of determination on his face.

“I’m sorry,” Alec forced out each word.

“It’s alright,” Magnus replied lightly, “I shouldn’t have-”

“No.” The word firmly stopped Magnus’ excuses for Alec’s behavior.

“I’m sorry for getting so mad and overreacting to what you said. I blew the situation out of proportion. I just...don’t want to talk about what happened after the demon hunt.” It was more of a plea with himself than anything else. Almost as if not talking about what happened would make it all go away.

“I understand.” Magnus didn’t really, but he certainly wasn’t going to push the issue. Alec nodded once, releasing Magnus’ gaze as he’d finally said what he came to say.

Alec sat on the corner of the bed. His head was bowed as he studied his hands. A few hours ago there had been blood on them.

“Nothing will tie you to Aldous,” said Magnus. “I’ll make sure of it.”

In that moment Alec looked younger and smaller too. Like his body was trying to close up on itself.

“Everything-” he broke off. “Everything just got so messed up so fast.”

“This world was always messed up,” Magnus reminded him gently. “You’re just more involved in it now. _I’m far_ more involved in it now.”

“So what happens now?” Alec looked up at Magnus, appearing so differently than the leadership role of an older brother and head Shadowhunter.

“I’m not sure,” Magnus answered honestly.

The warlock shifted on the bed so that the two men were sitting almost next to each other. Magnus simply placed his right hand over Alec’s as it laid on the bedspread. He hoped his touch was comforting and not inappropriate.

“We’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is gonna be some fun and fluff :)
> 
> ~Comments keep me motivated to write and update!~


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